How Chris Sale rediscovered his Cy Younger stuff with Braves: Three causes for southpaw’s early success

Throughout an offseason by which impression pitching was in brief provide, the Atlanta Braves discovered a inventive solution to deal with their rotation wants. On Dec. 30, the Braves landed seven-time All-Star Chris Sale in a one-for-one commerce with the Purple Sox that despatched infielder Vaughn Grissom to Boston. The Purple Sox agreed to pay $17 million of Sale’s wage to facilitate the commerce, and shortly thereafter Atlanta signed him to a two-year extension.

“We predict he is a playoff-caliber starter,” Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos mentioned after the commerce. “And that is what we had been available in the market for if we might purchase that this offseason, somebody that we felt might begin playoff video games for us.”

1 / 4 of the best way by the 2024 season, issues couldn’t be going higher for Sale with the Braves. The 35-year-old southpaw owns a 2.54 ERA by eight begins and 49 2/3 innings with strikeout and stroll totals (61/8 Ok/BB) harking back to his Cy Younger-caliber peak. On Tuesday evening, Sale struck out 9 Chicago Cubs in seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball (ATL 7, CHC 0).

“I am clearly proud of the place we have been and the place we’re, however now we have a protracted solution to go,” Sale mentioned after Tuesday’s win (through the Atlanta Journal Structure). “I am appreciative of the place we’re, nevertheless it’s nothing to hold your hat on fairly but.”

That is good perspective from a veteran pitcher who’s had greater than his fair proportion of accidents the previous couple of years, and is aware of simply how lengthy and demanding the season is. Eight begins in, Sale has been implausible. It’s only eight begins although. Could is just not the time to begin hanging banners and making victory declarations.

A 12 months in the past, a stress fracture in Sale’s shoulder restricted him to twenty begins and 102 2/3 innings with the Purple Sox, and in these 102 2/3 innings he wasn’t particularly efficient: 4.30 ERA with a .709 OPS in opposition to. That is not unhealthy by any means, although it was a far cry from the pitcher who completed within the high six of the AL Cy Younger voting yearly from 2012-18.

The Braves wager on Sale bouncing again and had been positioned to take action as a result of, coming into 2024, Sale was penciled in as their No. 3 starter at finest behind Spencer Strider and Max Fried. He may need even been No. 4 behind Charlie Morton. Atlanta didn’t want Sale to pitch like an ace the best way the Purple Sox did. They only wanted him to be higher than everybody else’s No. 3 or 4. The Sale commerce was my favourite offseason transfer for that cause.

Strider’s season-ending elbow surgical procedure does enhance Sale’s significance to Atlanta’s World Sequence hopes, and to this point he seems as much as the duty. What’s Sale doing this 12 months to rediscover his Cy Younger caliber type? Listed below are three causes he is as soon as once more one of many recreation’s most dominant pitchers.

1. He is wholesome

We’ve got to begin right here. For the primary time in a very long time, Sale is wholesome, and he was capable of have a traditional offseason. Final offseason he was coming off a finger damage and wrist surgical procedure. The 2 offseasons earlier than that he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgical procedure. This was a traditional winter for Sale. He might merely put together to pitch.

“The No. 1 factor for me is well being,” Sale mentioned Tuesday (through MLB.com). “I needed to get robust once more.”

Right here is the laundry record of accidents Sale has handled in recent times:

Sale’s finger was damaged by a comebacker on July 17, 2022, and, whereas recovering that August, Sale fell of his bike and broke his wrist. He wanted surgical procedure. The damaged finger is a nasty luck damage and is the damaged wrist is the results of carelessness, I suppose. All these different accidents are baseball accidents. It is all arm hassle and so they restricted Sale to 151 innings from 2020-23.

Being wholesome proper now and staying wholesome all 12 months, together with throughout what the Braves hope is a deep postseason run, are two very various things, and the group has made certain to offer Sale further relaxation as usually as attainable this season. He is made solely considered one of his eight begins on regular relaxation. The Braves have given Sale an additional day of relaxation nearly each single outing.

The one largest cause for Sale’s return to type is well being. He hasn’t been on this good a spot bodily in nearly seven years now. Will the great well being final? We’re simply going to have to attend and see. The very best predictor of future damage is previous damage, and Sale has an terrible lot of previous accidents. Proper now although, he is wholesome, and throwing the ball in addition to ever.

2. He is leaning on his slider

All through his profession Sale has been a fastball/slider monster who mixes within the occasional changeup. He’s nonetheless very a lot that man, and now he is throwing his slider greater than ever. At 42.2%, Sale ranks fifth amongst certified starters in slider utilization. Solely Jon Grey (46.2%), Dylan Stop (45.3%), Brady Singer (43.4%), and Tanner Houck (42.8%) throw their sliders extra.

Listed below are Sale’s pitch utilization charges since shifting into the rotation full-time in 2012:

Regardless of all-time excessive velocity, pitchers are scaling again on their fastballs and upping their breaking ball utilization just a little extra with every passing season. Sale’s former group, the Purple Sox, lastly bought with the instances and figured it out this season. The Braves have been forward of the curve for some time now and so they’ve bought Sale throwing extra sliders than fastballs.

The logic is easy: breaking balls are more durable to hit than fastballs, so throw extra breaking balls. And in Sale’s case, he has probably the greatest sliders within the sport. It has been one of many recreation’s nice swing-and-miss pitches all through his profession, and even throughout his substandard 2023, opponents hit solely .162 with a .358 slugging share in opposition to his slider.

Sale is throwing his finest pitch — probably the greatest pitches within the sport — extra usually, so he is having extra success. Typically it truly is that easy. It helps that Sale’s fastball is averaging near 95 mph, his finest velocity since earlier than Tommy John surgical procedure. We will attribute that to good well being. Extra velocity + extra sliders = nice outcomes.

3. He is finding his slider higher

Throwing extra sliders is one factor, however to essentially make the plan work, Sale has to find his slider effectively, and he is doing that this 12 months. He is touchdown his slider within the zone extra usually, and once you present you’ll be able to throw your slider for strikes, it places hitters in shield mode and opens them as much as chases off the plate. They get able to swing and Sale can use that aggressiveness in opposition to them.

Listed below are the numbers on Sale’s slider:

Non-competitive pitches are pitches which are at the very least 18 inches away from the middle of the plate. They’re the simplest takes. They’re the pitches which are a ball proper out of the pitcher’s hand. Sale has lowered these this season and he is throwing extra strikes together with his slider normally. He is so aggressive with it that hitters should respect it, and it leaves them weak to this:

That slider began within the left-handed hitter’s batter’s field and it nearly hit Seiya Suzuki within the again leg. The entire “throw the slider for strikes extra usually” factor will not work for everybody. Some guys should pitch off the plate with their slider. Sale’s slider is so good that he can pepper the zone with it and get good outcomes. Not many pitchers can try this.

With Sale, this isn’t actually a case of a group choosing up a pitcher and serving to him get to a different degree. We have see Sale pitch this effectively previously. He is going about it in a barely completely different means, however this is not some out of nowhere success story. It is a Cy Younger caliber pitcher placing up Cy Younger caliber outcomes because of good well being and a slight tweak to his pitch combine.

Sale’s well being shall be an ongoing story all season. He has a protracted arm damage historical past and pitchers with lengthy arm damage histories are likely to have extra arm hassle. It’s what it’s. Thus far although, Sale has returned to being a dominant strikeout pitcher and considered one of baseball’s high starters. Atlanta’s gamble is paying off handsomely.