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Chris Sale 2025 Player Outlook: One of the game's best
1 day agoThe 2024 NL Cy Young winner is coming off his best season in years, posting a 2.38 ERA and 18-3 record, but even more impressive are the advanced underlying metrics. Sale had an incredible 2.09 FIP, 5.77 K/BB ratio, and 0.46 HR/9. The guy was simply unreal last season, and it's no surprise that he's going as a top-10 pitcher in NFBC. But can he repeat it? Most indicators suggest that he can. Not only was Sale's FIP somehow lower than his ERA last year, he managed to have a pitching run value of 99 and a breaking ball value of 100 on Statcast last season, which is unheard of. We all know Sale has one of the best sliders in the game, and even at 35 (will be 36 shortly after the season starts) batters can't hit it. Opponents managed just a .171 AVG against Sale's slider, along with a 20.6% swinging strike rate and an insane 42.6% chase rate. Although the underlying metrics are excellent, don't expect a sub 2.50 ERA from Sale again. He could get there, but it takes a lot of lucky combined with incredible skill to get that low. Still, so long as he stays healthy Sale should be dominant once again.
