Chris Sale
Position: Pitcher
Chris Sale probably won’t get the nod to start the All-Star game, as he has done in each of the last two seasons. He’ll undoubtedly still make the team.
The lefty leads the league with 164 strikeouts, putting him on pace to top 300 for the second consecutive season. He may even make another run at Pedro Martinez‘ single-season franchise record. His 12.7 K/9 is only a tick behind last year’s rate so it seems the only thing holding him back from approaching that territory is if the Red Sox limit his innings in the second half to keep him fresh for the postseason.
Sale’s 2.41 ERA is fourth in the league. He’s third with a 0.89 WHIP and 5.66 K/BB ratio, as well as second with a .179 batting average against.
In case facing Sale wasn’t terrifying enough for opposing hitters, this year he’s cranked up the velocity. Over his last few starts we’ve seen Sale hit 100 mph on the radar gun. That was once a rarity for Sale. Now he makes it look routine.
While Sale hasn’t quite matched his dominant first half from last year, he’s clearly still among the league’s top starters.