Has Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale lost his fastball in 2019?
Red Sox ace Chris Sale is having a rocky start to begin the 2019 season. However, it’s too soon to count him out at turning it around.
Chris Sale has had a rocky start to begin the season. The ace of the Boston Red Sox rotation is 0-4 with an 8.58 ERA. He’s also allowed 13 earned runs in 2019. Last season, he allowed just 37 runs in 27 starts. Sale is striking out a career-low 13 percent of batters faced. His 11.1 swinging strike percentage and 6.0 walk percentage are his worst rates since 2012, per FanGraphs.
Sale has thrown the four-seam fastball 104 times so far this season. He’s given up four walks, recorded five strikeouts, and hitters are batting an average .524 against his fastball. That is the highest in Sale’s career. His walk percentage is at 14.8% which hasn’t been that high since 2010. Also, his strikeout percentage is at 18.5% which hasn’t been that low since 2011. Sale has thrown 59 strikes with the four-seam fastball and 42 balls. His home run to fly ball ratio is at 50% which is the highest it’s been in his career.
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Sale’s contact percentage is 95.1% which is the highest since 2011 when it was 83.2%. Hitters are making contact with Sale’s four-seam inside the zone 100% of the time and outside the zone 87.5% of the time. Both of those stats are career highs. It’s like players have studied how to approach Sale all offseason to hit him. Sale needs to make adjustments to his four-seam. That could be to his mechanics of the pitch, the delivery, or the location so hitters have a harder time hitting him.
Lastly, his velocity is way down on his four-seam fastball the lowest in his career. Right now it’s at 92.4. Last year, his average velocity on his fastball was 95.3 which is a significant drop. Now that could be because he didn’t get enough time to pitch in spring training but that is quite concerning to have your ace pitcher drop in velocity on his fastball so much in one season. However, the velocity should get up to the 95-96 range as the season continues. One thing is certain though he’s holding himself accountable and wants to figure out what’s going on.
Remember that the Red Sox have locked up Sale for five more years after he signed a $140 million extension in February. It’s way too early to suggest that the Sox wasted money at giving Sale the extension. Yes, he has injury history but he does perform great in the postseason and that’s what matters the most.
dark. Next. Sale continues to look lost
One thing is for certain though, he never makes excuses, which is one of the reasons he’s likable. He’s got potential to really be the pitcher the Sox have him signed for if he pitches well and doesn’t make too many mistakes. The fastball that he’s having issues with and the location will come around it’s a long season. Chris Sale doesn’t quit he fights until he gets it right.