One of the lone bright spots of the White Sox’ 2022 season is up for league-wide recognition.
Starting pitcher Dylan Cease was named an American League Cy Young Award finalist on Monday evening by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Joining him are Toronto’s Alex Manoah and Houston’s Justin Verlander as the other finalists.
Cease, 26, had his long-awaited breakout season and continued the trend of improving upon his previous season’s numbers in elite fashion. The righty was the owner of a 14-8 record, 2.20 ERA (184.0 IP/45 ER), 227 strikeouts, 3.10 FIP, 1.109 WHIP, and 227 strikeouts in 32 starts. Despite being one of the more notable All-Star snubs, the White Sox right-hander finished the season ranked second among qualified AL starters in ERA, strikeouts, and opponents average (.190) and third in strikeouts per nine innings (11.10).
While Cease’s stats are impressive, Verlander is still viewed as the heavy favorite for the award after his remarkable comeback from Tommy John surgery. The 39-year-old finished the regular season 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA (175.0 IP/34 ER), 185 strikeouts, 220 ERA+, and 0.829 WHIP in 28 starts. His ERA was the lowest by any AL starter since Pedro Martinez’s 1.74 mark in 2000, when the Boston starter also won the Cy Young.
Manoah, who figures to finish third to Cease in a tight race, ended his 2022 campaign with a 16-7 record, a 2.24 ERA (196.2 IP/49 ER), 3.35 FIP, 0.992 WHIP, and 180 strikeouts. The 24-year-old finished eighth in last year’s AL Rookie of the Year voting and will surely be a force in the league for years to come.
In their history, the White Sox have had three Cy Young Award winners: Early Wynn (1959), LaMarr Hoyt (1983), and Jack McDowell (1993). They’ve also had contenders as recently as last year, when starter Lance Lynn finished third in the voting.
An official announcement for this year’s AL and NL Cy Young Award winners will come on Wednesday, November 16th.
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Featured Photo: © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
