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MLB Power Rankings: Top 25 players in the game today

By Joshua Sadlock

ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 02: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts to his solo homerun for a 1-1 tie with the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 02: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts to his solo homerun for a 1-1 tie with the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – APRIL 15: Chris Sale #42 of the Boston Red Sox delivers during the fourth inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on April 15, 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 15: Chris Sale #42 of the Boston Red Sox delivers during the fourth inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on April 15, 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

20. Chris Sale

Any questions about how well lefty Chris Sale would handle the move from the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox were put to bed extremely quickly last season. In his first season in the pressure cooker that is Fenway Park, Sale was everything the Red Sox hoped he would be after they gave up Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech to acquire him. That’s a steep price, but worth it for a pitcher of Sale’s caliber.

Last season, Sale led the major leagues in innings pitches, strikeouts (he had 308), FIP and strikeouts per nine. A small hiccup in the second half cost him the Cy Young to Corey Kluber, but it was close. Sale did run out of gas fully in the postseason, allowing nine runs in 9.2 innings as the Red Sox went out in the ALDS for the second year in a row. It was his first taste of pitching that deep into the year.

Sale is a few inches shorter than Hall of Fame southpaw Randy Johnson, but his demeanor and delivery on the mound are similar. At 6-foot-6 and generously listed at 180 pounds, Sale is all arms and legs with a very herky-jerky delivery before he slings the ball from a three-quarter arm slot. The movement he generates on his fastball and slider is devastating. Left-handed batters, who have hit just .206/.260/.274 off Sale, might be better off going up to the plate without a bat.

There are Cy Youngs in the future for the six-time All-Star who just turned 29 in March. Sale will get his first chance to cash in as a free agent after the 2019 season, but the Red Sox would be wise to try and lock him up before it comes to that.

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