Dylan Cease reflects on first All-Star start: “It’s a massive honor”

PHILADELPHIA — Dylan Cease has spent years establishing himself as one of baseball’s premier pitchers. On Tuesday night, he’ll add another milestone to that résumé when he starts the 2026 MLB All-Star Game for the American League.

The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander was officially named the AL starter by manager John Schneider on Monday, becoming the franchise’s first pitcher to start the Midsummer Classic since Roy Halladay in 2009.

For Cease, the moment represents the culmination of years of work.

“Yeah, it’s a massive honor,” Cease said. “I’m really excited, and I feel very grateful for it.”

The 30-year-old enters the All-Star break after a dominant first half that included an outing in which he came within one inning of throwing a no-hitter, earning the nod to open the showcase event in Philadelphia.

A full-circle moment

Being named an All-Star carries extra significance for Cease after narrowly missing out on the honor earlier in his career.

Asked whether being left off the roster in 2022 still motivates him, the Blue Jays ace admitted it was a frustrating experience at the time.

“Yeah, I was definitely upset in 2022,” Cease said. “Four years later, I don’t know if it was still fueling me, but I feel like getting to start my first one maybe made up for it. Yeah, that was disappointing, but this is such a cool experience.”

Learning to embrace ABS

Cease also shared his thoughts on MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike challenge system, which has become one of the league’s biggest talking points this season.

Rather than overanalyze it, the right-hander has learned to accept the technology as part of the modern game.

“I think it’s entertaining,” Cease said. “I like it when it goes my way, and I don’t like it when it doesn’t. I think it’s entertaining, and it’s just one of those where I have kind of just accepted it is what it is.”

Slider over disc golf

Known for one of the game’s most devastating breaking balls, Cease was asked which of his own pitches he would least want to face as a hitter.

His answer came without hesitation.

“I faced a couple of sliders back in my day, and they bounced and I swung at them,” Cease joked. “So I got to go slider.”

The conversation also drifted away from baseball when Cease discussed his passion for disc golf, a hobby introduced by his twin brother several years ago.

“He got me into it six, seven years ago,” Cease explained. “I gave him a hard time about it… Then he got me out there, and somehow I just really fell in love with it. It’s been a main activity for him and me, especially since COVID.”

Still, if given the choice between recording three strikeouts in the All-Star Game or hitting a hole-in-one in disc golf, Cease knows which moment he’d rather have.

“I think I would rather strike out the side,” he said. “But that’s a close second.”