Austin Hays vs Dylan Cease

The Almanac's Take

Dylan Cease has been one of the toughest arms in baseball this season — 2.56 ERA, 13.5 K/9, and a 3.36 K/BB ratio across 98.1 innings. Hays enters this at .231/.250/.308 with a 32.5 K% in just 40 PA, and there's no platoon edge here since both throw and bat right. The 15-PA head-to-head is too thin to lean on, though the 83.5 mph average exit velocity in those meetings at least rhymes with the current-season profile — Hays isn't squaring Cease up. A slider-heavy (60%) righty with elite strikeout numbers against a righty who's fanning nearly a third of the time is a tough equation for Hays.

Career head-to-head

AVG

.200

3-for-15

PA

15

HR

1

K

3

BB

0

Pitches seen

50

Avg exit velo

83.5 mph

Career meetings in the Statcast era (2015–present). Even a clear edge over a handful of plate appearances is a small sample — read it as color, not a projection.

Pitch mix to the batter

Plate-appearance log

• 2026-04-03Single · 4-Seam Fastball 98.1 mph · 100.0 mph EV
• 2026-04-03Field Out · Slider 90.9 mph · 76.8 mph EV
• 2025-06-27Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 95.7 mph · 71.0 mph EV
• 2025-06-27Strikeout · 4-Seam Fastball 97.5 mph
• 2023-04-16Field Out · Slider 84.0 mph · 100.5 mph EV
• 2023-04-16Strikeout · Slider 85.1 mph
• 2023-04-16Single · 4-Seam Fastball 94.0 mph · 96.8 mph EV
• 2022-08-23Field Out · Slider 88.0 mph · 58.1 mph EV
• 2022-08-23Field Out · Slider 86.1 mph · 99.5 mph EV
• 2022-06-26Strikeout · Slider 89.0 mph
• 2022-06-26Field Out · Slider 88.3 mph · 79.0 mph EV
• 2022-06-26Field Out · Slider 88.1 mph · 58.7 mph EV
• 2021-07-11Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 97.6 mph · 75.1 mph EV
• 2021-07-11Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 97.5 mph · 86.4 mph EV
• 2021-07-11Home Run · 4-Seam Fastball 96.7 mph · 100.1 mph EV