Dylan Cease

Cease finished second in voting for the AL Cy Young in 2022 after he posted a 2.20 ERA in 32 starts, but he stumbled to a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 214:79 K:BB over 177 innings last season. Some regression wasn't surprising since the elite campaign had some underwhelming peripherals, but much like the White Sox in general, his fall in 2023 was steeper than anticipated. The underlying numbers flipped in the opposite direction, with a 3.72 FIP indicating he had some poor luck. Cease's strikeout rate dropped over three points to 27.3 percent, though he improved his walk rate slightly to 10.1 percent. A .330 BABIP and 41.5 percent hard-hit rate were both career worsts, the former of which was certainly affected by Chicago's horrid defense (minus-59 DRS). His true self likely falls somewhere in between the results of the past two seasons, making him somewhat of a volatile option for fantasy managers in 2024, though his strikeout floor is strong. Cease has also been regularly mentioned in trade rumors over the past year, and a move elsewhere would likely only improve his immediate outlook. Read Past Outlooks