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, USA
- MLB debut
- August 6, 2010
- Drafted
- 2007, round 21
- College
- Florida Gulf Coast
- High school
- Lakeland
- Salary, 2026
- $18M
- dbWAR
- 12.9 3 season(s)
- IP
- 123.0
- ERA
- 2.20
- FIP
- 2.40
- K/9
- 11.0
- FIP−
- 58 100 = avg
Chris Sale is a starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. In 2026 he struck out 151 batters over 123.0 innings across 21 appearances, 21 of them starts, going 12-7. His ERA of 2.20 was 47.4% lower than the league average of 4.18 — 4th of 13 on his team, and 32nd of 467 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 2.40 FIP suggests the ERA was no fluke. He missed bats on 30.7% of swings (15.4% of every pitch he threw), walked 5.7% of the batters he faced and struck out 30.6%. His 3.7 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.
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 | 124 | 114 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 39 | .237 | .293 | .342 | .286 | 31.5% |
| vs RHB | 370 | 339 | 71 | 7 | 23 | 112 | .209 | .270 | .292 | .256 | 30.3% |
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, and how often it misses in 2026.
| Four-Seam Fastball | 804 | 96.1 | 2,337 | 54.2% | 26.7% | |
| Slider | 775 | 79.5 | 2,510 | 52.1% | 38.7% | |
| Changeup | 222 | 88.4 | 1,847 | 43.7% | 34.2% | |
| Sinker | 168 | 95.6 | 2,194 | 52.4% | 10.8% |
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 21 | 21 | 123.0 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 98 | 30 | 151 | 28 | 2.20 | 2.40 | 1.02 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 53 | 58 | 3.7 | |
| 2025 | 21 | 20 | 125.2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 102 | 36 | 165 | 32 | 2.58 | 2.67 | 1.07 | 11.8 | 2.3 | 62 | 64 | 3.3 | |
| 2024 | 29 | 29 | 177.2 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 141 | 47 | 225 | 39 | 2.38 | 2.09 | 1.01 | 11.4 | 2.0 | 58 | 51 | 5.8 |
Head to head
Put Chris Sale beside up to three others.
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.