Righty Dylan Cease has been named the American League pitcher of the month after a scintillating July, punctuated by a one-hit complete-game shutout, MLB announced Monday.
Over his five starts in the mid-summer month, Cease went 3-1 with a 1.00 ERA and 0.72 WHIP, allowing only 15 hits and 11 walks while striking out 46 in 36 innings. The 30-year-old was near untouchable, holding opponents to a .125 batting average.
The 30-year-old was near the top of the majors in several categories in July, leading the league in opponent batting average and WHIP, ranking second in ERA and innings pitched, and fourth in strikeouts.
He began the month on July 3 with a seven-inning scoreless gem against the Seattle Mariners, allowing only four baserunners while striking out nine. Cease then followed it up five days later against the San Francisco Giants, going eight scoreless innings in a 10-0 battering while striking out 11.
For the pièce de resistance, Cease authored his first complete game in a Blue Jays uniform and his first since 2024, going the whole way in a 6-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on July 25. He allowed only one hit and three walks, held Boston hitless until the sixth inning, struck out 12, and was the only pitcher in July to throw a shutout.
Since joining the Jays in free agency, Cease has played some of the best baseball of his eight-year career. In 20 starts, the Milton, Ga., native has a 2.41 ERA, a 1.081 WHIP and leads the AL in FIP (2.30), HR/9 (0.5) and K/9 (13.1). He has 174 strikeouts in 119.1 innings of work.
In the National League, Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale was named pitcher of the month after going 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA, and Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams was named player of the month after hitting .348 with 10 home runs and a 1.150 OPS. Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was named player of the month in the AL after hitting nine homers with a .360 batting average and a 1.188 OPS.