Trading Places

Up until a month or so ago, I just didn’t trust White Sox starter Dylan Cease. If I were scouting for the opposition, I would advise batters to wait the young righthander out and sit on a rather flat fastball. No more. The 26-year old has figured out how to get his breaking ball over for strikes, which makes his fastball all the more effectives; very few hitters can adjust to both pitches as they try to identify which one is coming. Cease won thirteen games last season. With his six shutout innings against the Guardians yesterday in a 6-3 Sox win, the righthander notched his tenth victory with just over two months to go in the regular season. Oh, and he’s nearly cut his ERA in half, from 3.92 in 2021 to 2.03 as of yesterday. It's as if Cease has traded places with Lucas Giolito. From 2019 to 2021, Giolito won twenty-nine games with an ERA in the neighborhood of 3.50. This season, the 28-year old has a 6-6 record to go with a 5.12 ERA. The last time Giolito had a comparable WHIP (1.456) was 2018. He went 10-13 that year with a 6.13 ERA and 1.477 WHIP. Yikes. Giolito keeps talking about staying strong, focusing on his next start, working on his mechanics. Whatever. Just so long as he starts pitching like his teammate. And the sooner the better.