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Chris Sale Continues To Be an Ageless Wonder

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 28: Chris Sale #51 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the sixth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Truist Park on September 28, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images)

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Chris Sale Continues To Be an Ageless Wonder

Originally posted on Just Baseball | By Jordan Leandre | Last updated Sep 17, 2026 8:58 AM ET

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When Chris Sale arrived in Atlanta, he seemed on the last legs of a “What if” type of career. After amassing just 151 innings over his final four seasons with the Boston Red Sox, the southpaw fell out of favor with the organization and fan base.

Consequently, he found himself an Atlanta Brave in 2024. While still uber-talented, the questions surrounding his health remained.

Fast forward nearly three full seasons and, while those health concerns still play a role, he’s nearly bucked them entirely. Now 37, Sale’s gone from a “what if” to a sure-fire Hall of Famer. But he’s not doing it by simply staying healthy and accumulating the counting stats to elevate what was an elite-tier peak. He’s returned to dominance, sustained it, and even won his first Cy Young Award during this three-year stretch with the Braves.

If not for the emergence of Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, we very well could be looking at Sale’s second Cy Young. What we do know, however, is that with over 2,700 strikeouts and 60 fWAR, there’s no questioning his eventual Cooperstown enshrinement.

This turnaround had precious little to do with his ability when on the mound. Sustaining peak performance deep into your 30s takes obvious work on the body and mind. Staying available, which plagued him during the back half of his prime, has turned him into an ageless wonder.

More Dominant Than Ever

Save for his injury-shortened 2018 campaign, Sale is in the midst of his best season since 2014 by ERA. His 2.18 is third among qualified starters, second in the National League. He’s also seventh in strikeout rate, third in walk rate, and fifth in WHIP.

Despite the unorthodox delivery, Sale’s command remains one of his best traits as a starter. It’s not something new with him, as his worst walk rate as a starter is 6.8 percent. But for someone with a hard-to-repeat delivery, with as much velocity and spin as Sale has, to have razor-sharp command is extraordinary.

He only made 21 appearances in 2025, so he hasn’t had as much volume as he did early in his career, but he’s never had three straight years with an ERA under three. He’s had two prior stretches of two seasons, with just one as a starter. To not only exceed his early-career peak, but for his age-37 season to arguably be his best, speaks volumes to the work he’s put in.

Maintained Strikeout Production

Sale is 10 strikeouts away from his ninth 200-strikeout season. Barring anything unforeseen, there’s no reason to expect him to fall short.

His 30.3% strikeout rate, for most, would be a career high. For Sale, that’s actually one of the worst of his career. Part of returning to Hall of Fame status was building up his counting stats. He’s done that and then some since getting to Atlanta.

Since 2024, he’s second in strikeout rate behind only Garrett Crochet. As far as total strikeouts, he’s tied for fifth with Cristopher Sánchez. He’s not only one of the best strikeout artists of his generation, he’s one of the best of all time. Among qualified starters, he’s sixth all-time in strikeout rate; first among starters with at least 1,500 innings.

Maintaining that level as he aged helped him coast to nearly 2,800 strikeouts for his career, which ranks 27th in league history.

He’s Truly a Five-Tool Pitcher

Five-tool players are often referenced for position players. Those players are guys who can run, field, throw, hit (for average), and hit for power. But Sale is a five-tool pitcher.

He commands the ball, steals strikes, generates whiffs, prevents runs, and goes deep into games. The only flaw in his game is sometimes getting beat by the home run ball.

Looking at his Savant page, it’s blood red. Overall, his pitching run value of 33 ranks in the 99th percentile this season. He’s also in the 90th percentile or better in strikeout rate, walk rate, and chase rate, not to mention being in the 88th percentile for expected ERA.

Hitting against him is borderline impossible, even as he ages. His fastball is the hardest it’s ever been on average, save for his rookie season as a reliever (96.1 mph). His slider, widely known as one of the nastiest offerings in baseball, still is. Opponents hit .186 against his slider this year with a .244 slugging percentage and 107 strikeouts. The only pitcher with more strikeouts on the slider this year is Cincinnati Reds young fireballer Chase Burns, who has 122.

He’s also averaging six innings per start this year, which is the hallmark of a true ace-caliber arm.

How Does His Resume Stack Up?

Sale sits 44th among all pitchers in career fWAR at 63.3. On the surface, that doesn’t sound like “Hall of Fame” until you look at some of those enshrined above him. The likes of Bob Feller, Don Drysdale, Whitey Ford, and Sandy Koufax are all 1.9 wins or more behind the Braves lefty.

Sale would also rank 18th in strikeouts among Hall of Famers and is under 100 behind Jim Bunning, who ranks 15th.

Furthermore, he’s the all-time leader in strikeouts-per-walk at 5.33, all while having a Cy Young, Triple Crown, Gold Glove, an ERA title, a World Series, and 10 All-Star selections. All he needed when he left Boston was some volume, and perhaps a stroke of luck with another elite season. He’s provided three of those, cementing his case as one of the best left-handers of all time, not just his generation.

This article first appeared on Just Baseball and was syndicated with permission.

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