'We're being slept on': Why Cease has message for doubters

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Dylan Cease had a message for the baseball world regarding his fellow White Sox starters after throwing two scoreless innings against the Rangers in a 14-3 loss on Saturday.

“I’m really excited for this rotation,” said Cease outside the White Sox clubhouse at Surprise Stadium. “I think a lot of people are sleeping on us.

“You see the way the ball is coming out of Michael [Kopech]’s hand right now. Garrett [Crochet] is nasty. [Erick] Fedde is super nasty, he locates well. I think this team has a ton of potential and I think we’re being slept on, for sure.”

So, it’s not just the five starters, but the entire White Sox team deserving attention in Cease’s mind?

“For sure,” Cease added.

Cease sits at the top of the rotation for this apparently rebuilding squad, getting ready for his second straight Opening Day start. The right-hander, who finished second in the 2022 American League Cy Young Award voting, was dominant on Opening Day ‘23, striking out 10 Astros over 6 1/3 innings in a 3-2 victory against the defending World Series champions in Houston.

On Saturday, against the current defending World Series champion Rangers, Cease struck out one, walked one and allowed two hits. He threw 20 of his 33 pitches for strikes and topped out at 97 mph, according to the scoreboard radar reading.

“It was solid,” Cease said. “I wasn’t quite automatic, but for the most part, I was throwing a lot of strikes, the stuff was really sharp, so, happy with it. I feel like I’m in a great spot for this early in the year and we’re definitely trending in the right direction.

“This is the best I’ve been in Spring Training in I don’t know how long. I’ve been through spurts where I located almost effortlessly. Lately I haven’t been quite as effortless, but it’s getting close and by the end of spring I’ll be pretty locked in.”

By the end of Spring Training, Cease also figures to still be on the White Sox. He was the talk of frequent trade rumors during this past offseason, ranging from Baltimore to Los Angeles -- with Atlanta in between -- but a presently quiet trade market is not on his mind.

“I don’t even know if there is any [talk] right now,” Cease said. “But I don’t really care.”

Martín Maldonado caught Cease's 2024 Cactus League debut, and the team’s ace raved about Maldonado’s work behind the plate. Manager Pedro Grifol has raved about the seven catchers in camp -- and in some cases, for their leadership as much as their play.

That leadership was on display Friday at Sloan Park when catcher Chuckie Robinson threw a potential inning-ending double play into right field, allowing two runs to score in the sixth. Robinson waited on the field after the inning ended for Everhett Hazelwood, a Minor League right-hander called up for the game, to let him know that mistake was on him.

“We got some leadership on this club now,” Grifol said. “And guys that are emerging as leaders. Our catchers, a good handful of those guys are really good leaders. We are done with the blame game and all that [garbage]. We are done with that. We are moving forward.

“There’s a certain way we want to do things and a certain style of play we want to see. That’s where we are at. I’ve said this before, the train is leaving the station. You are either on it or you are not. This is how we do things. There are some guys emerging as good leaders.”

Fedde takes the mound Sunday for the White Sox followed by Garrett Crochet in relief, though he’s being stretched out as a starter. Michael Soroka makes his White Sox debut Monday against the Diamondbacks, with Chris Flexen listed behind him.

Chicago's focus Saturday fell upon Cease, who was happy with the sharpness of his slider amidst his solid overall work.

“Just good velo, and you can see it when it’s kind of exploding, the way the batters react when you’re getting swings and misses and weak contact,” said Cease of what makes for a good slider. “One thing with it, it was kind of moving to the point to where I had to recalibrate where I was aiming it, so that was a good sign.”