Cease approaches perfection for Barons

The White Sox have been one of the more active teams on the trade market in recent seasons and Dylan Cease did more to validate that strategy Wednesday night for Double-A Birmingham.
The fourth-ranked White Sox prospect set down the first 20 batters he faced over seven one-hit innings as the Barons cruised past Tennessee, 9-1, at Regions Field. He matched his career high with 12 strikeouts and issued one walk while lowering his ERA to 2.83 in his fifth Southern League start.

"I was getting ahead of batters with my off-speed and my fastball," Cease said. "I was also able to go in and out with my fastball, and that gave me a really good opportunity to get in counts where I had the advantage. Fortunately, we were able to do something really special."
Zack Short lined a base hit to right field with two outs in the seventh to break up the bid for perfection. MLB.com's No. 40 overall prospect recorded 11 strikeouts and induced seven ground balls before he encountered that first speed bump, which came after he fell behind in the count, 3-1.
"When they know it's coming, it makes their job easier," Cease said. "The hitter earned himself a fastball there and he did a good job getting a hit, so you got to tip your cap."
Gameday box score
He lost the next batter, Trent Giambrone, to a seven-pitch walk and put the runners in scoring position with a wild pitch. But he was able to find the zone with a payoff pitch to Ian Rice to end the threat and exit after throwing 63 of 101 pitches for strikes.
"It's just one of those [days] where your body feels synced up," Cease said. "I can throw pitches I don't even have to think about. Those days are always fun."
The 22-year-old started the season with Class A Advanced Winston-Salem and went 9-2 with a 2.89 ERA and 82 strikeouts over 71 2/3 innings in 13 starts. Wednesday night's effort was reminiscent of his May 1 outing against Lynchburg, where he first reached the 12-punchout threshold while putting together a stretch of 19 consecutive outs.
"I always have the same cues, it's basically getting my foot down, keeping my head on the target," Cease said. "On days like that, when you have a great feel, you can make it really hard on the batter."

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was promoted to Birmingham on June 21 and has been stretched beyond 95 pitches in each of his five outings, a mark he reached for the first time in his four-year career in that win over Lynchburg. Cease said he has a better feel for his pitches than in previous seasons and that it's helped him better use his off-speed pitches while encouraging weak or early contact with his fastball.
"Last year, if I was lucky I'd be throwing my fastball where I wanted to and for strikes. On my bad days, I wasn't throwing anything for strikes and it would take me 90 pitches to get through four [innings]," he said. "I think that's the biggest difference -- I'm a more complete pitcher than I was last year."
The Georgia native rebounded well from his Southern League debut and has allowed four runs over 24 frames in four starts since.
The 2014 sixth-rounder was acquired from the Cubs last July with No. 2 overall prospect Eloy Jiménez and Birmingham teammates Matt Rose and Bryant Flete in the trade that sent left-hander Jose Quintana across town. Batting in consecutive spots in the lineup on Wednesday, Rose and Flete provided some run support for Cease.

Rose clubbed his 14th homer, fell a triple shy of the cycle, drove in three runs and scored three times. Flete knocked in Rose with a fifth-inning single following the first baseman's RBI double.
"I don't know that there's any extra anything going into it," Cease said of the potential for added motivation when facing a Cubs affiliate. "I was just excited that our teams did so well today, especially Rose almost hitting for the cycle and Flete making some plays. ... It was just really fun."
No. 8 White Sox prospect Zack Collins had two hits, including his 12th homer, and two RBIs for the Barons.