Dylan Cease is an AL Cy Young finalist, and Louis Varland is up for AL Reliever of the Year. It's the Blue Jays' first Cy Young finalist in three years.

MLB and the BBWAA announced the finalists Monday. Cease is up against Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler and Parker Messick, with winners revealed next week.

His first season in Toronto was dominant. He posted a 2.40 ERA with 239 strikeouts over 169 innings.

July was the high point. He took a no-hitter into the ninth against the Giants before Heliot Ramos singled leading off the inning.

Seventeen days later, he threw a complete-game one-hitter at Fenway Park.

But did those starts come at a cost? The radar gun suggests they did.

Dylan Cease's fastball dropped after back-to-back heavy outings

He threw 118 and 120 pitches in those two starts. His four-seamer averaged 97.4 m.p.h. before the Fenway gem and 95.5 afterward.

The drop bottomed out in his final outing. His first pitch against the Rangers was the slowest fastball of his career at 91.1 m.p.h.

He lasted 2.2 innings that night and walked six. Soon after, he landed on the IL with right shoulder inflammation and was shut down.

Those pitch counts were a mistake. Toronto is paying Cease $210 million over seven years, and pushing him to 120 pitches in a July start wasn't worth the risk.

Varland's case is just as strong. His 1.27 ERA was the lowest among all qualified relievers.

He took over the closer role from Jeff Hoffman in late April and finished with 35 saves. He'd be the first Blue Jay to win the award.

He'll face Canadian Cade Smith and Rays closer Bryan Baker, a former Blue Jay.

Cease's season was like a sports car driven flat out on a summer road trip. Gorgeous to watch, but you check the engine afterward.

A Cy Young would cap a brilliant debut. But Toronto's bigger win would be a fully healthy Cease in spring training, firing upper-90s heat again.