Sale Ranked Second in Latest Starting Pitcher Power Rankings

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale is on top of the world in 2024.

According to the latest MLB Starting Pitcher Power Rankings , he is also on top of the National League following his latest dominant start versus the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.

Sale trails only Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers with 13 wins and a 2.61 ERA, and he ranks third with 177 strikeouts – just below the fellow left-hander. The two lefties are leading candidates for the Cy Young Award in their respective leagues, and that was reflected in the rankings.

Here's what MLB.com said about Sale's ranking:

"This is Sale’s highest ranking yet, coming on the heels of Monday’s showdown with Snell at Oracle Park. In one of the most dazzling pitching duels of the season, Sale allowed just three hits over seven scoreless innings, striking out 12 without issuing a walk. He has a 2.15 ERA and 1.72 FIP over his past 11 outings and continues to move closer to locking up the Cy Young Award that somehow has eluded him to this point in his accomplished career."

Sale recorded his second straight double-digit strikeout performance versus the Giants, and he has been missing bats at an incredible rate all season. Following his duel with the third-ranked Blake Snell, Sale is in the the top five percentile in MLB in chase rate (34.6%), K% (33.3%), hard hit percentage (29.2%) and average exit velocity (85.8).

He also leads the NL with an 11.8 K/9 rate, 2.12 FIP and ranks second with a 0.97 WHIP. His ERA, FIP and 5.90 K/BB are all his personal highest totals since 2018, when he finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting.

At 35 years old, Sale is showing the league he's still capable of tapping into the form that earned him seven consecutive top-six finishes in the AL CY Young voting from 2012-18. Durability was his biggest concern, but he's already at 134.2 IP and on pace for 181 IP – his highest total since leading the MLB with 214.1 in 2017.

Sale came into the season regarded as a former great, but he's resurrecting his reputation with the Braves in 2024 – and he might just get to the top this time.