Ever since he was approaching the Draft as a high school senior in Georgia back in 2014, Dylan Cease displayed big league-caliber stuff. It’s taken a bit longer than expected, starting with the Tommy John surgery he had upon signing with the Cubs for $1.5 million in the sixth round of that June’s Draft. But the right-hander is now getting the chance to show exactly how his stuff will play at the highest level when he makes his Major League debut on Wednesday.

Cease didn’t make his professional debut until June 2015, a year after being drafted, as he rehabbed after his elbow surgery. The Cubs brought him along very slowly and he didn’t reach full-season ball until 2017. He was traded that July to the White Sox as part of the big Jose Quintana deal.

The gloves came off in 2018 as the right-hander reached Double-A for the first time, pitched in the Futures Game and was named MLB Pipeline’s Pitcher of the Year. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before the 23-year-old got a chance to join the White Sox youth movement in Chicago.

The timing might seem a bit off given Cease’s numbers over the previous month with Triple-A Charlotte. But while the 8.31 ERA, .338 batting average against and 2.31 WHIP in June certainly aren’t pretty, the organization isn’t concerned. His stuff has still graded out above-average to plus across the board; it’s been more a matter of execution. And within each outing, he still showed he’s ready for this next challenge. Here’s a bit more on the arsenal he’ll bring with him to the mound against the Tigers, and beyond.

Fastball: Still Cease’s premium pitch -- he has been known to touch triple digits – it’s consistently in the upper-90s and thrown with solid life and sink. He has struggled a bit with his fastball command as of late, leading to some of those inflated numbers, but the velocity and movement should play just fine.

Curveball: It was one of the best in the 2014 Draft class, especially among the high school set, and it continues to be one of the better breaking balls in the Minors. A 65 on the 20-to-80 scale, it’s a real hammer at its best, thrown with power and depth, providing a true swing-and-miss out pitch.

Slider: This is a relatively new offering for Cease, a pitch he started using in 2018, with excellent results. It features cutter-like action to it and is trending upwards, occasionally flashing plus this season. At the very least, it’s consistently a Major League-average pitch.

Changeup: Cease will throw this offspeed pitch in the low-to-mid 80s with pretty good sink. It’s his fourth pitch right now, but it does keep hitters off-balance and should also be Major League average in time. Don’t expect to see too many of these in his debut.

Control: With improvements to his delivery, Cease had made some serious strides in terms of his command and control. His 3.6 walks per nine rate in 2018 was a career low and he started out the 2019 season headed in the same direction (2.59 BB/9 in April), but the walks have ticked up in each of the last two months and a big reason for his statistical struggles in June can be tied to his 6.23 walk rate for the month.