His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cease's 4-seam fastball averages 97.9 mph, and has touched 100.0.
317 thrown, 35.1% of his pitches.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cease's 4-seam fastball carries 18.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
317 thrown, averaging 97.9 mph.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cease goes to the slider: 40.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 24.2% the rest of the time.
283 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Cease works off the plate, with only 37.7% of his pitches in the zone, 10th percentile.
905 pitches in 2026. 10th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 483rd in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cease's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 92.5 mph, against 83.0 off his sweeper.
317 and 56 of them thrown.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .394 expected average against them, against .326 on his breaking balls.
103 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Cease puts 57.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 32.8% when he is ahead.
261 located pitches behind, 247 ahead.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Cease's stuff spins at 2,512 rpm, 89th percentile in the league.
905 pitches in 2026. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 60th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Cease lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
904 located pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.1 mph separates Cease's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 97.9 against 82.8.
317 and 79 of them respectively.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Cease lands 45.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 26.2% of his offspeed pitches.
401 of his fastballs, 103 of his offspeed pitches.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Cease averages 91.5 mph across his arsenal, 74th percentile in the league.
905 pitches in 2026. 74th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 138th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Cease's sweeper spins at 2,827 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
56 thrown in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Cease works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 3.0 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
904 located pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cease's sinker moves 11.7 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
84 thrown, averaging 96.2 mph.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Cease projects a .353 average, 26th percentile.
905 pitches in 2026. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 397th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.9% of Cease's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
144 of 904 located pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cease throws the changeup 19.4% of the time against left-handers and 0.8% against right-handers.
388 pitches to right-handers, 516 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cease works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 35.1% of everything he throws.
904 classified pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Cease throws a fastball 47.5% of the time, against 42.1% when he is ahead.
261 pitches behind in the count, 247 ahead.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Cease is weak: 87.5 mph off the bat on average, 64th percentile.
905 pitches in 2026. 64th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 193rd in MLB.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cease's 4-seam fastball averages 97.9 mph, and has touched 100.0.
317 thrown, 35.1% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cease's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 92.5 mph, against 83.0 off his sweeper.
317 and 56 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.1 mph separates Cease's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 97.9 against 82.8.
317 and 79 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Cease's sweeper spins at 2,827 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
56 thrown in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cease throws the changeup 19.4% of the time against left-handers and 0.8% against right-handers.
388 pitches to right-handers, 516 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cease works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 35.1% of everything he throws.
904 classified pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cease's 4-seam fastball carries 18.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
317 thrown, averaging 97.9 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cease's sinker moves 11.7 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
84 thrown, averaging 96.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cease goes to the slider: 40.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 24.2% the rest of the time.
283 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Cease puts 57.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 32.8% when he is ahead.
261 located pitches behind, 247 ahead.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Cease throws a fastball 47.5% of the time, against 42.1% when he is ahead.
261 pitches behind in the count, 247 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Cease works off the plate, with only 37.7% of his pitches in the zone, 10th percentile.
905 pitches in 2026. 10th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 483rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .394 expected average against them, against .326 on his breaking balls.
103 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Cease lands 45.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 26.2% of his offspeed pitches.
401 of his fastballs, 103 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Cease's stuff spins at 2,512 rpm, 89th percentile in the league.
905 pitches in 2026. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 60th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Cease lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
904 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Cease works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 3.0 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
904 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.9% of Cease's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
144 of 904 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Cease averages 91.5 mph across his arsenal, 74th percentile in the league.
905 pitches in 2026. 74th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 138th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Cease projects a .353 average, 26th percentile.
905 pitches in 2026. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 397th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Cease is weak: 87.5 mph off the bat on average, 64th percentile.
905 pitches in 2026. 64th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 193rd in MLB.
Blue Jays