Players · S · Pitcher · 2026
Chris Sale
- Age
- 37
- B/T
- L/L
- Height
- 6' 6"
- Weight
- 180 lb
- Number
- #51
- Born
- March 30, 1989 in Lakeland, FL, United States
- MLB debut
- August 6, 2010
- Drafted
- 2007, round 21
- College
- Florida Gulf Coast
- High school
- Lakeland
- Salary, 2026
- $18M
- dbWAR
- 45.2 16 season(s)
- IP
- 162.2
- ERA
- 2.16
- FIP
- 2.29
- K/9
- 11.1
- FIP−
- 55 100 = avg
Chris Sale is a starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. In 2026 he struck out 200 batters over 162.2 innings across 27 appearances, 27 of them starts, going 14-9. His ERA of 2.16 is 48.4% lower than the league average of 4.18 — the second best on his team, and 32nd of 538 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 2.29 FIP suggests the ERA was no fluke. He missed bats on 30.4% of swings (15.4% of every pitch he threw), walked 4.8% of the batters he faced and struck out 30.9%. His 5.6 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.
League context
Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.
WAR by season
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ATL | 27 | 27 | 162.2 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 129 | 39 | 200 | 31 | 2.16 | 2.29 | 0.98 | 11.1 | 1.7 | 52 | 55 | 5.6 | |
| 2025 | ATL | 21 | 20 | 125.2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 102 | 36 | 165 | 32 | 2.58 | 2.67 | 1.07 | 11.8 | 2.3 | 62 | 64 | 3.6 | |
| 2024 | ATL | 29 | 29 | 177.2 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 141 | 47 | 225 | 39 | 2.38 | 2.09 | 1.01 | 11.4 | 2.0 | 58 | 51 | 6.2 | |
| 2023 | BOS | 20 | 20 | 102.2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 87 | 49 | 125 | 29 | 4.30 | 3.80 | 1.13 | 11.0 | 2.5 | 99 | 88 | 2.0 | |
| 2022 | BOS | 2 | 2 | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3.18 | 2.41 | 1.06 | 7.9 | 1.6 | 80 | 61 | 0.2 | |
| 2021 | BOS | 9 | 9 | 42.2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 15 | 52 | 12 | 3.16 | 3.69 | 1.34 | 11.0 | 2.5 | 74 | 86 | 0.9 | |
| 2019 | BOS | 25 | 25 | 147.1 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 123 | 72 | 218 | 37 | 4.40 | 3.39 | 1.09 | 13.3 | 2.3 | 98 | 75 | 3.7 | |
| 2018 | BOS | 27 | 27 | 158.0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 102 | 37 | 237 | 34 | 2.11 | 1.98 | 0.86 | 13.5 | 1.9 | 51 | 48 | 6.0 | |
| 2017 | BOS | 32 | 32 | 214.1 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 165 | 69 | 308 | 43 | 2.90 | 2.45 | 0.97 | 12.9 | 1.8 | 66 | 56 | 7.2 | |
| 2016 | CWS | 32 | 32 | 226.2 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 190 | 84 | 233 | 45 | 3.34 | 3.46 | 1.04 | 9.3 | 1.8 | 80 | 83 | 4.5 | |
| 2015 | CWS | 31 | 31 | 208.2 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 185 | 79 | 274 | 42 | 3.41 | 2.73 | 1.09 | 11.8 | 1.8 | 86 | 69 | 5.4 |
Batting
Standard and advanced, by season.
Platoon splits
How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.
| Split | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs LHB | 162 | 152 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 53 | .230 | .273 | .322 | .267 | 32.7% |
| vs RHB | 486 | 447 | 94 | 9 | 26 | 147 | .210 | .270 | .300 | .259 | 30.2% |
Pitch sequencing
What Chris Sale throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Chris Sale throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, how often it misses, and what hitters do with it.
| Four-Seam Fastball | 1,065 | 96.1 | 2,350 | 55.7% | 27.5% | 237 | .215 | .639 | |
| Slider | 1,027 | 79.8 | 2,529 | 51.7% | 38.2% | 249 | .185 | .493 | |
| Changeup | 265 | 88.5 | 1,859 | 41.9% | 30.3% | 67 | .284 | .623 | |
| Sinker | 217 | 95.6 | 2,209 | 53.0% | 10.6% | 49 | .265 | .593 |
Head to head
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Similar players
Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.
wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.