Chris Sale: Buy or Sell?
Jun 3, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher
Chris Sale(49) throws during the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago White Sox have struggled as of late with both hitting and pitching. They have just gotten swept by the Tampa Bay Rays, even though they scored 10 runs in three games.
The White Sox pitching staff ranks 23rd overall in total team ERA in the majors thus far in 2015, but they still have a valuable fantasy pitcher in Chris Sale. Sale is currently 6-3 with a 3.01 ERA, and he has 105 strikeouts in only 74.0 innings. That is a 1.41 strikeouts per inning ratio, which is among league leaders.
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The White Sox currently rank 28th in total offense in the major leagues, which can create problems for fantasy owners who own pitchers on these lowly ranked offensive teams. Sale is getting one of the lowest run support totals in the majors, meaning that his team isn’t producing enough runs for him to be eligible to get the victory. Fantasy pitchers must be able to get victories because that is how they rack up additional fantasy points.
While Sale is 6-3, he has pitched in 12 games, which means that in three of those games his offense couldn’t get him the lead. Sale was a Cy Young candidate heading into 2015, as he claimed that prestigious award in 2013. Sale has looked as if he has regained that form of his 2013 dominance.
The impactful fantasy question here is, should you buy or sell Sale at this point in the season?
You want a fantasy pitcher who can bring you high volumes of strikeouts, which Sale can easily bring. Sale has racked up at least 10 K’s in his past five starts, but he is only 3-2 in those last five starts. However, Sale has only given up three runs in those past five games, which usually leads to a win, unless you have the White Sox offense.
I think that you should sell Sale at this point in the season because he is coming off of a hot streak, so you can get max value for him now. I do not think that Sale will be worth it to give away a top offensive fantasy player(s) because I think that Sale will struggle over the summer because of the horrible offense he has backing him. I would not recommend buying Sale unless you can get him at a low point later on in the season.
For more by Caleb Luketic, check out CalebOnSports.com