Chris Sale

35-Year-Old PitcherSP

Atlanta Braves

2024 Stats

W-L

18-3

ERA

2.38

WHIP

1.01

225

2025 Projections

W-L

ERA

WHIP

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2025 Fantasy Outlook

The veteran left-hander was traded from Boston to Atlanta last winter and turned back the clock in 2024 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 225:39 K:BB over 177.2 innings, which along with an 18-3 record should net him his first Cy Young Award. Sale's 29 starts were the most he's made in a season since starting 32 games during his first year with the Red Sox in 2017, and it was a remarkable turnaround in his age-35 campaign after pitching in just 31 games across the previous three seasons. The big question at this point is whether Sale can sustain that resurgence, both in terms of effectiveness and availability. The stuff hasn't faded too much over the years, and he averaged 94.8 mph on his fastball last season, but there's always some risk with older pitchers, and he'll turn 36 years old in late March. The bigger immediate potential issue is availability, since one mostly healthy season doesn't eliminate the health concerns, especially at this point in his career. Still, Sale is a future Hall of Famer coming off arguably the best season of his career, and he'll certainly be worth the risk in 2025 if he's able to stay healthy again. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

From Preseason

Overall Rank

Dynasty

#42

ADP

League Majors

Bats L

Throws L

40 Man Yes

Height 6'6"

Weight 183

DOB 3/30/1989

Born Lakeland, FL

College Florida Gulf Coast

Drafted 1st Rd 2010 CWS

Wraps up spring in style

PAtlanta Braves

March 22, 2025

Sale gave up three hits and a walk over four scoreless innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out five.

ANALYSIS
The veteran southpaw finishes his spring with a 2.79 ERA and 20:5 K:BB through 19.1 innings. Sale's checkered injury history wasn't erased by last year's National League Cy Young Award -- he hasn't worked 25-plus starts in back-to-back seasons since 2018-19 -- but he's shown no hint of a health concern in camp and looks ready to take the bump for Atlanta on Opening Day, just three days before his 36th birthday.

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Pitching Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2024 MLB Game Log

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2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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2017 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown

Average Pitch Count

Last 10 Games

100

Last 5 Games

101

How many pitches does Chris Sale generally throw?

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

What part of the game does Chris Sale generally pitch?

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

% Games Reaching Innings Threshold

% Games By Number of Innings Pitched

Left/Right Pitching Splits

Since 2022

-10%

BAA vs LHP

2024

-13%

BAA vs LHP

2023

-9%

BAA vs RHP

2022

-100%

BAA vs LHP

	BAA	Batters	K	BB	H	2B	3B	HR
Since 2022vs Left	.201	171	61	8	32	6	1	5
Since 2022vs Right	.223	980	294	61	201	52	5	19
2024vs Left	.192	111	40	5	20	4	1	2
2024vs Right	.221	591	185	34	121	28	3	7
2023vs Left	.245	54	18	3	12	2	0	3
2023vs Right	.224	370	107	26	75	22	2	12
2022vs Left	.000	6	3	0	0	0	0	0
2022vs Right	.294	19	2	1	5	2	0	0
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Pitching Splits

Since 2022

-5%

ERA at Home

2024

-8%

ERA at Home

2023

-3%

ERA on Road

2022

-100%

ERA at Home

	ERA	WHIP	IP	W	L	SV	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Since 2022Home	2.99	1.02	132.1	11	1	0	11.2	1.7	0.8
Since 2022Away	3.16	1.09	153.2	13	8	0	11.1	2.6	0.7
2024Home	2.28	0.99	87.0	10	0	0	10.7	1.4	0.4
2024Away	2.48	1.04	90.2	8	3	0	12.1	2.5	0.5
2023Home	4.37	1.08	45.1	1	1	0	12.3	2.2	1.6
2023Away	4.24	1.17	57.1	5	4	0	9.9	2.8	1.1
2022Home	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2022Away	3.18	1.06	5.2	0	1	0	7.9	1.6	0.0
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Stat Review

How does Chris Sale compare to other starting pitchers?

This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

K/BB

5.77

K/9

11.4

BB/9

2.0

HR/9

0.5

Fastball

94.8 mph

ERA

2.38

WHIP

1.01

BABIP

.324

GB/FB

1.56

Left On Base

78.9%

Exit Velocity

79.6 mph

Barrels/BBE

3.3%

Spin Rate

2205 rpm

Balls Hit 95+ MPH

18.3%

Swinging Strike

14.5%

Advanced Pitching Stats

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Defensive Stats

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Stats Vs Today's Lineup

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15 days ago

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Sale made 11 starts before being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left scapula. At the time, the southpaw had recorded a 4.58 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, with 71 strikeouts in 59 stanzas. However, a 3.63 xFIP suggested his ERA would drop had he stayed healthy. Sale missed just over 10 weeks, returning in mid-August. He made nine more starts, posting a 3.92 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in that span, fanning 54 in 43.3 innings. This time, Sale's 3.85 xFIP meshed with his actual ERA. For the season, Sale's 4.30 ERA was more than half a run over its estimators. This bodes well for a productive 2024, but with lingering durability concerns. Sale threw 102.2 innings last year, so he could handle in the 150 range, if he can stay healthy. His bloated ERA last year may keep his cost to a level where the reward outweighs the risk. The trick is to expect around 130 innings and plan accordingly. Anything more is icing on the cake.

Sale was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his ribcage in mid-March, so he began 2022 on the 60-day IL. After several short rehab starts, Sale made his debut on July 8, limiting the Rays to three hits over five scoreless frames, fanning five with one walk. His promising return was squashed two outs into the next game when he suffered a broken pinky on a comebacker. It was unclear if Sale would pitch again in 2022, but surgery for a broken wrist incurred from a bicycle accident in early August assured he was done. Sale executed his option, so he'll be back with Boston for two seasons. He didn't miss time with an arm injury, but he's only accrued 48.1 total innings since 2021. Sale is a wild card. When healthy, he was one of the top hurlers in the league. Last season's truncated return is encouraging, but even if healthy, he'll be 33 years old with an innings limit. Let someone else pay for the brand name.

Sale underwent Tommy John in late March of 2020, and it seemed like things had been trending in that direction for a while. Shoulder issues cost Sale time during the 2018 season and the trouble continued down the kinetic chain, with elbow inflammation limiting Sale to 147.2 innings in 2019. The Red Sox understandably took it slow with their ace and Sale finally returned Aug. 14 of last season. He made nine starts down the stretch, going 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA and 1.34 WHIP over 42.2 innings before tacking on nine more frames in the postseason. Sale's velocity and strikeouts were down from his peak, but he still had a 21.9 K-BB%, which would have been a top-10 mark in baseball if he had enough innings to qualify. Of course we should not project Sale to finish with enough innings to qualify in 2022, either, but the southpaw showed that he can still perform at a very high level. Remember Sale was an All-Star every year from 2012-18.

The 2019 season did not end well for Sale as he showed a drop in velocity and for the second consecutive season, failed to avoid the injured list. He reported to camp in February and by mid-March, he was on the table having Tommy John surgery. Mind you, this all happened in the first year of his new five-year, $145 million contract extension. Management has already said they do not expect Sale back on the active roster until "mid-summer." Ignore what Sale says, because management has 145 million reasons to handle his comeback with care. Unless you are drafting in a keeper league, his value on draft day should be considered negligible given the statistical track record of pitchers pitching the season following TJS. Even mid-summer is still just 15 months out for him, and command is always the last thing that comes back for a pitcher.

Heading into 2019, Sale's shoulder was the concern after he missed time down the stretch in 2018 (32.1 innings total in August, September and October of that year). Tests showed no structural damage and Boston signed Sale to a five-year extension prior to Opening Day, which helped alleviate fear amongst fantasy owners. However, after the Red Sox slow-played him in spring training, Sale's velocity was still down when the regular season began and he started the year by going 0-5 with a 6.30 ERA in his first six starts. Things improved greatly, with Sale posting a 0.98 WHIP and 150:22 K:BB over his subsequent 15 outings, but elbow trouble popped up and Sale was officially shut down Aug. 19. Tommy John surgery was deemed unnecessary and the team said he would be fully healthy for the start of spring training. That was not the case and it was announced in early March that Sale was headed for another MRI on his elbow.

Sale somehow raised the bar in 2018, with career-best marks in ERA (2.11) and WHIP (0.86) buoyed by outstanding indicators, namely a 32.9 K-BB% and 0.63 HR/9 that ranked first and fourth, respectively, among all hurlers who tossed 150-plus frames. His bid for his first Cy Young lost momentum, however, when shoulder inflammation set in, requiring two separate DL stints and limiting Sale to 29 second-half innings. He returned in time for Boston's World Series run, but clearly wasn't in top form. His average fastball velocity sat at 93.2 mph from September onward, per Brooks Baseball, nearly five ticks below its mid-summer peak. The lefty fortunately avoided offseason shoulder surgery, leaving the team optimistic he'll be back to full strength after extended rest and rehab. Sale's health still warrants a check-in during spring training, but if reports surrounding the southpaw are positive, he can be drafted with confidence as a fantasy staff ace.

A late fade took some of the shine off Sale's first season in Boston, but he was excellent for most of the year, finishing as a top-three pitcher in terms of earned 5x5 fantasy value. The lefty didn't just add back to his strikeout rate; he posted the highest K/9 of his career (12.9), boosted by 18 double-digit strikeout performances. He also had the sixth-lowest walk rate among qualified starters and kept the home runs in check at home, resulting in the best FIP among all pitchers with at least 70 innings. Sale's consistency over the years and (surprising) durability should keep him near the top of starting pitcher rankings in 2018. The only real question is: where does he fit in among the entire player universe? A case can be made for anywhere in the 10-25 range, even though he pitches in a tough division, as he has the tools to be the most valuable pitcher in fantasy baseball in 2018.

There was a great disturbance in the fantasy baseball force at the start of 2016 when Sale declared he was looking to be more efficient in 2016 with his pitches. By season's end, Sale struck out at least 10 batters just four times, matching his career low from 2012 when he threw 34 fewer innings and made three fewer starts than in 2016. This came on the heels of 2015, when he struck out 10 or more 13 times. He still carried a 9.3 K/9 and was as stingy as ever with walks. How does moving from The Cell to Fenway Park affect him? Fenway is also hitter-friendly, but he's pitched in dangerous conditions for home games throughout his career. Of course, his numbers won't rival those of the top NL aces, considering he's had an ERA over 3.30 in back-to-back seasons. He is the best real-life rotation arm in the American League, which makes him good enough to scrape the top five or, more comfortably, top 10 fantasy starters.

Sale was one of the best starting pitchers in the American League in 2015, finishing in the top five in the Cy Young vote for a third straight season. His 2.73 FIP led the league, and his 11.8 K/9 was best among all qualifying pitchers. He had a record eight consecutive games with double-digit strikeout totals, and walked more than two batters in just four starts. His slider is nearly unhittable, and his high-90s fastball is also a very good pitch. Sale's unconventional delivery will continue to trigger injury concerns, but he has averaged over 197 innings since becoming a full-time starter in 2012. The anchor of the White Sox’s staff, he will likely be among the league’s elite once more.

Sale led the AL with a 10.8 K/9 and 178 ERA+, but a month-long stay on the disabled list with a flexor strain curtailed his innings in such a way that he only finished third in the Cy Young race. Still, opposing left-handed batters managed just a meager .393 OPS against him, while hitters of all stripes only hit .137 against his slider. He allowed one run or fewer in 14 of his 26 starts, and struck out eight or more in 14 of his 26 starts. Sale looks to be the ace of the White Sox staff for the 2015 season, and should continue to be one of the top AL starters on the board.

Sale's win total dropped from 17 in 2012 to 11 in 2013, but the rest of his repertoire was impressive enough to lead him a fifth-place finish in the AL Cy Young race. His 9.5 K/9 was tops among the league's left-handed starters, and his walk rate fell to a career-best 1.9 BB/9. Opposing batters hit a measly .138 off his slider, and the pitch was virtually unhittable for left-handed batters. Sale was pegged as a reliever in his early days in the league because of durability concerns, but he threw 214 innings in 2013 and led the league with four complete games. There should not be much cause for concern about regression in 2014. Sale will potentially be an injury risk to some due to his "inverted W" delivery, but he has yet to hit the disabled list through his first 512 professional innings. Look for him to lead the White Sox's rotation again in 2014.

The White Sox drafted Sale in 2010 as a starter, but it looked like he was shaping up to be the team's closer of the future through his first two professional seasons. He threw nearly 200 innings after throwing fewer than 100 in 2010 and 2011 combined. The extra workload may have worn on him as the season progressed, as he had a sub-1.00 WHIP and 3.92 K/BB leading up to the All-Star break, and he allowed 14 home runs in the second half. Opposing left-handed hitters had a mere .601 OPS against him, and he only issued 46 unintentional walks over his 192 innings. Sale will open 2013 as the White Sox's 24-year-old ace, and he should continue his ascent into the league's top tier of starters.

Sale squandered his chance to be the White Sox's full-time closer in 2011, but he made for one heck of a setup man/sometime closer. He struck out 79 batters in 71 innings in his first full professional season, and he increasingly utilized his plus-slider and change-up. It looks like Sale will finally make the move to the rotation in 2012, and there may be some growing pains as his innings total reaches triple digits. If he were staying in the bullpen, Sale may have been the first in line to close with the team's decision to trade Sergio Santos to Toronto in December.

Just one year ago, Sale was pitching at Florida Gulf Coast University and rated as one of the top amateur pitchers. His funky delivery caused him to fall to the White Sox at No. 13 overall in the June 2010 draft, and he was in the majors by August. He started in college but was used in a relief role in the pros. That funky delivery helped him strike out 32 major league batters in 23.1 innings, and he struck out 51 over 33.1 across three levels. The White Sox insist they will give him a shot to start in 2011, but his name will also be in the closer mix.

More Fantasy News

Officially tapped for Opening Day

PAtlanta Braves

March 17, 2025

Atlanta announced Monday that Sale will be its Opening Day starter March 27 in San Diego.