A Brief History of Blue Jays Starting the All-Star Game

When the Toronto Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract, some fans were surprised. That's No. 1 starter money, and not everyone viewed him as a surefire ace.

The Blue Jays saw a pitcher who compiled more than 20.0 fWAR over the past five seasons, with two top-five Cy Young finishes to his name. Others saw a pitcher with a mid-4.00s ERA in two of the past three seasons, who had never even made an All-Star team. 

Any questions about Cease's acehood are looking awfully foolish half a season into his Blue Jays career. His ERA is two runs lower than it was in 2025, and he has finally made his first All-Star team. Not only that, but he'll be starting the game for the AL squad. Let's take a quick look back at the other Toronto pitchers who had that honour before him.

Dave Stieb, 1983

Dave Stieb made back-to-back All-Star teams in 1980 and '81. In 1981, he became the first Blue Jays pitcher to finish an All-Star Game, something I'm hoping Louis Varland will get to accomplish tonight. 

Stieb failed to make the squad for a third straight year in 1982, although he earned his first Cy Young votes at the end of the season. Then, in 1983, he went 10-7 with a 2.54 ERA over a league-leading 148.2 innings in the season's first half. That performance earned him the ball to start the Midsummer Classic.

The Blue Jays' ace threw three innings, striking out future Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Andre Dawson, and Tim Raines, as well as two-time MVP Dale Murphy. Stieb gave up a run in the first inning, due to an error of his own doing, but quickly settled in. He was the winning pitcher in a 13-3 AL victory.

Stieb wasn't quite as dominant in the second half, but that's only because of how high he set the bar for himself. He finished the year with a 3.04 ERA in 36 starts. While he didn't earn any Cy Young support, he led the Junior Circuit in bWAR for a second year in a row.

Dave Stieb, 1984

At the halfway mark of the 1984 season, Stieb was 9-3 with a 2.42 ERA in 137.2 innings pitched. He had fewer complete games, but other than that, he looked every bit as dominant as he had in the first half the year before. Unfortunately, he wasn't as successful in the All-Star Game. Stieb threw two innings and gave up two runs (one earned), this time taking the loss in a 3-1 game.

By FanGraphs and Baseball Reference WAR, the 1984 season was the best of Stieb's career. His 7.9 bWAR led the major leagues, as did his 267.0 innings pitched and 146 ERA+. Despite that, he didn't get much love in the Cy Young voting at the end of the year. At least he got to start the All-Star Game for the second time in a row. Hard to complain about that.

Fun fact: After seven years of only having one representative in the game, the Blue Jays had three All-Stars in 1984. Joining Stieb were second baseman Dámaso García and shortstop Alfredo Griffin.

David Wells, 2000

David Wells began his career with the Blue Jays from 1987 to '92. Three years after he left Toronto, he became an All-Star for the first time with the Detroit Tigers. Another three years later, he made the All-Star team again as a member of the New York Yankees.

The 2000 season was arguably the best of Wells's 21-year career. He made 35 starts, won 20 games, and led the majors with a 3.2% walk rate. His first half was particularly strong; he went 15-2 with a 3.44 ERA. 

Wells threw two scoreless innings for the AL All-Stars in 2000, striking out Sammy Sosa and Jason Kendall. The AL won the game, but they didn't score until the third inning, so Wells had to settle for a no-decision in his third and final All-Star Game appearance.

Roy Halladay, 2009

Roy Halladay made six All-Star teams during his tenure with the Blue Jays, and he pitched in four of them (2002, '06, '08, and '09). In his last appearance for the AL squad, he finally earned his first start. He would go on to make two more All-Star teams with the Phillies, starting the game again in 2011. Funnily enough, he is the most recent pitcher to start the game for both Toronto and Philadelphia. That will change for both teams this year, when Cease faces off against Cristopher Sánchez tonight. Anyway, back to Halladay.

The right-hander was 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA at the end of the first half. His performance in the Midsummer Classic wasn't his best work – he gave up three runs (two earned) in two innings – but it was still a historic performance. Halladay remains the most recent pitcher (Shohei Ohtani excluded) to take a plate appearance in the All-Star Game. (Don't hold your breath; he struck out.)

Halladay went on to finish fifth in Cy Young voting in his final season in Toronto. He led the majors with four shutouts, nine complete games, and a 5.94 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 

Dylan Cease, 2026

Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees is the AL Cy Young front-runner, but he'll be sitting out the All-Star Game after pitching on Saturday. For what it's worth, John Schneider claims he would have gone with Cease for the start no matter what. 

Whether that's homerism or a little white lie, Cease is certainly deserving of the opportunity. His near-no-hitter last week brought him to the top of the AL fWAR leaderboard, with 3.7 fWAR to Schlitter's 3.4 (in three fewer starts!). Cease also leads the AL with 148 strikeouts, a 2.85 xERA, and a 2.96 SIERA. It's going to be fun to watch him take the mound tonight, and even more fun to see what he has in store for us in the second half of the season.