Why Braves' Chris Sale is a super-early NL Cy Young favorite

Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Truist Park. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Why Braves' Chris Sale is a super-early NL Cy Young favorite

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Apr 26, 2026 6:36 PM ET

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It's only late April, but a clear leader in the National League Cy Young race is emerging.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale has been off to an incredible start this season. The left-handed ace kept rolling in the Braves' home game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Chris Sale separated himself in the super-early Cy Young race in Sunday's outing against Phillies

Sale, 37, allowed one hit and struck out nine batters in a 6-2 win over the Phillies. In doing so, he passed five-time All-Star Chuck Finley for the 28th-most strikeouts (2,617) in MLB history. He ranks seventh among left-handed pitchers.

Sale now has a 5-1 starting record. Entering Sunday, Jose Soriano (Los Angeles Angels) and Aaron Ashby (Milwaukee Brewers) were the only other pitchers who had five wins.

Soriano and Ashby, though, haven't been as dominant as Sale. Per StatMuse, he's the only pitcher this season to have four starts with six-plus innings pitched, one or fewer errors and five-plus strikeouts.

There is only one pitcher this season to have four starts with:

6.0+ IP
≤ 1 ER
5+ SO

That pitcher is Chris Sale. pic.twitter.com/NWUZzHOZyN
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 26, 2026

That's an impressive start, but let's not get too hasty. We're not even close to the halfway mark of the season, and Sale will face plenty of competition, mainly Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

Skenes won the award last season and may capture it for a second time this season. As of Sunday, FanDuel Sportsbook lists him as the NL Cy Young favorite (+180).

He hasn't been as dominant as Sale, but Skenes remains one of the best pitchers in baseball. Entering Sunday, he had a 4-1 starting record and was tied for second in the majors in WHIP (0.72).

2024 NL Cy Young winner Sale remaining hot, however, would make the race for the trophy much more interesting, and it would put the Braves in a position to make the playoffs after missing the postseason last season. The Braves are 20-9 and have won eight of their last 10 games.

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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