Cease (hamstring) made a mechanical adjustment during the offseason designed to make his fastball more effective, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

Cease, who finished with a 5.79 ERA in 14 starts in the majors, said he was getting too rotational on his front side, which in his opinion led to cutting issues with his fastball. Opponents teed off on the right-hander's heater, slugging .611 against it in 2019, per BrooksBaseball. Cease averaged a little more than five innings and 97 pitches per start, with innings one (9.00 ERA) and two (9.64) particularly troublesome. He's hoping the adjustment leads to fewer pitches per inning and deeper outings.