Austin Hays vs Dylan Cease

The Almanac's Take

Hays enters this without a platoon edge — both he and Cease throw and bat right — and his season line does nothing to change that read: .231/.250/.308 with a 32.5% strikeout rate across 40 plate appearances is a rough profile to carry into a pitcher running 13.4 K/9. The 15 career PA between them is too thin to lean on, though Cease leaned on his slider 60% of the time in those meetings and Hays posted an 83.5 mph average exit velocity against him — soft contact territory. At a 3.05 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, Cease is the clear side to be on here.

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