Dylan Cease has rather quietly built a reputation as an electric workhorse through the duration of his seven-year MLB career. Now halfway through his eighth campaign, as the hired ace of the Toronto Blue Jays, Cease is finally receiving the long-overdue respect of his peers in the MLB community by being named the American League starting pitcher for tonight’s All-Star Game.
Does the current American League strikeout leader deserve the nod as the man to take the ball? Absolutely.
The right-hander who regularly delivers heat into the triple digits is baffling hitters so far, with an astounding 13.5 K’s per nine innings en route to 148 total strikeouts through his first 17 starts. With run support being a huge concern from a hobbling and often absent Jays offense, Cease has still managed to tally six wins through 17 starts.
Granted, he should be hovering around the ten-win mark given the quality start that he seems to deliver virtually every time he takes the mound, but overall, his stat line reads like a bona fide All-Star.
Dylan Cease Well Deserving of the All-Star Game Starting Nod
The final vote of confidence came from American League manager John Schneider, who, of course, also serves as the Blue Jays’ skipper. Did Schneider’s final say have some level of influence in handing the ball to Cease over Tampa Bay’s elite combo of Nick Martinez and Drew Rasmussen?
Might Minnesota’s Joe Ryan or the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler have been the better call to start tonight? Perhaps a short argument could have been made in some cases, but clearly, Cease is the man at this time, and his numbers so far in the 2026 season support Schneider’s call.
Cease will also, most certainly provide Jays fans with a boost of B-12, if not false hope, after what can mainly be described as a dismal first-half performance.
With the arsenal of starting pitcher power that Schneider has at his disposal for the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia, it appears probable that Cease might only shove one inning. For fun, and a bit of historical perspective, here is a glimpse of the previous All-Star game performances of the four legendary Blue Jays pitchers who took the ball to start for the American League:
Dave Stieb ASG Starter (1983 & 1984)
Stieb seems to be lost in the shuffle of names from the ’80s era of MLB pitchers who found their way to Cooperstown. Yet the stats clearly show that he was among the very best starting pitchers of the decade. Stieb took the win after pitching a full three scoreless innings as the starter for the AL at old Comiskey Park in 1983, and then returned to start once again at Candlestick Park in San Francisco for the ‘84 classic.
The two, back-to-back starting nods at a time when the Jays were just getting started as a juggernaut force in the AL East are a testament to Stieb’s dominance. He would ultimately become a seven-time All-Star for the AL.
David Wells ASG Starter (2000)
Stieb and Wells were teammates for six seasons and were World Series Champs together with the 1992 Blue Jays. It was when Wells left via free agency and developed as a starter, especially during his tenure with the New York Yankees, that he truly became an elite starter.
2000 is arguably his finest individual season, as “Boomer” returned for a second stint with the Jays. He had 14 wins by the break and appeared to be heading towards a season for the ages. A no-brainer to take the ball, as Joe Torre’s starting pitcher for the AL, Wells shut down the National League lineup that consisted of elite home run hitters such as Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield, and Chipper Jones.
