PHILADELPHIA – The Toronto Blue Jays wanted a creative way to name Dylan Cease the American League starter for Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game, so 10 minutes before a team gathering Sunday morning, the pitching department gathered before a whiteboard.

Cease, they’ve come to learn this season, loves painting, with one of his pieces hanging in manager John Schneider’s office back at Rogers Centre. Delivering the news in a custom “painting” featuring various tidbits about the ace was perfect they decided, so they took turns at what can loosely be called drawing features on the impromptu work. 

“If we had more time, we could have filled up that board, for sure,” said pitching coach Pete Walker.

As it stood, they did pretty well. 

Walker wrote “get in my legs” inside a sun, the phrase a reminder Cease often gives himself before and during outings. Someone put the resistance bands integral to his routine inside block letters spelling out “Philly” from the bottom up. There’s a cat – Cease loves cats – a baseball diamond with his name on the bump, the phrases “changeups are sexy” and “no one remembers a 1-hitter” plus the last name of Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax.

2026 MLB All-Star Game on SportsnetBlue Jays ace Dylan Cease starts for the AL as the brightest stars in baseball go head-to-head in the 2026 MLB All-Star Game. Watch the Midsummer classic Tuesday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.Broadcast schedule

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