Opening Day of the 2025 MLB season is almost here, so it’s time to focus on fantasy baseball and MLB DFS. Coming off another impressive year, San Diego right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease excelled in his first season in the National League and ended with his second top-four finish in Cy Young voting.
Being one of the best strikeout pitchers and able to stay healthy, he is ranked in the top ten starting pitchers for the 2025 fantasy baseball season. Cease’s season-long fantasy baseball projections are set at 209.5 strikeouts, four double-digit strikeout games, and 11.5 season wins on PrizePicks' MLBSZN game.
We’ll analyze Cease’s past performances, compare them to his 2025 season projections, and see if he can maintain his level of excellence to finally get over the hump and win the Cy Young.
You can play daily fantasy MLB on PrizePicks every day, turning every game into a chance to win big. Just pick More or Less on player stats like pitcher strikeouts or 0.5 first inning runs allowed and cash in if your picks are correct.
Dylan Cease 2024 Stats
2024 was a rebound season on a new team coming off a shaky 2023 with the White Sox. Some of the numbers we saw from Cease in his first season with the Padres were similar to 2022 with the White Sox, when he finished second in American League Cy Young voting.
The right-hander is a high-velocity strikeout pitcher, and he showed that with 10.6 strikeouts per nine — the third-best in the National League. When you’re near a 30% strikeout rate, you're one of the elites, and Cease was just shy of 29.4%, which was eighth across MLB starters.
The 3.75 ERA isn’t great when talking about the top starters in the league, but he did appear to be better than that number would indicate, with a 3.31 expected ERA (xERA). It could also have to do with moving from the American Central to the National League West, which has stronger competition.
What Do Cease’s 2025 Predictive Stats Say?
Cease is putting himself in ace territory with two top-four Cy Young voting finishes.
He’s one of the best strikeout pitchers because of his ability to get the swing and miss, as his 32.4% whiff rate is in the 92nd percentile.
When he’s on the mound, he usually finishes with a high strikeout number, and last season, he had 17 starts with at least seven strikeouts. You can also be confident he’ll send someone away empty-handed every inning because he only averaged less than a strikeout per inning in five of 32 starts.
To get a high strikeout total, you need to be on the mound every fifth day, and Cease has been able to do that. In his last four seasons, where he became a full-time starter, he has 32 starts in two and 33 in two, leading the league in starts in three of those.
Who Can Throw More Strikeouts Than Cease?
Last season, only two pitchers threw more strikeouts than Cease: Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal, both their respective league’s Cy Young award winners.
10.6 strikeouts per nine innings is his lowest total in his last four seasons, but his 224 strikeouts were still three of his career-high and four from tying Skubal for the most in the league.
With him being one of the best pitchers in the MLB, his capabilities to create swing-and-misses, and his endurance to stay on the field, Cease could have another spectacular season where he will be in the National League Cy Young conversation.
Get Ready for MLB DFS on PrizePicks
Opening Day is almost here, which means it’s officially fantasy baseball season. You can create your ideal fantasy baseball squad with MLBSZN on PrizePicks — and even add Cease’s strikeout projection to your Lineup.
Just pick More or Less on season-long player stats, like strikeouts or hits, and get paid if your picks are correct at the end of the season. When the season starts, you can cash in every day on MLB DFS on PrizePicks.
PrizePicks is the best way to win real money while watching your favorite MLB teams and players all season long. Whether you’re waiting for Opening Day to cash in on MLB DFS, or building your MLBSZN teams, there’s always a way to win real money on MLB on PrizePicks.
