Braves' Chris Sale forces his way back to a top spot in latest pitching power rankings

Sale would experience some back spasms in the 2024 postseason, and he missed 10 weeks last season with a rib cage fracture. This season, he has been healthy, knock on wood, with his only time missed being for an illness in April that didn't cost him a start.

So far this season, he has compiled a 6-1 record with a 2.14 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 42 innings. And two weeks ago, he was not a part of MLB.com's pitching power rankings, but now Andrew Simon has ranked him No. 3.

"'He's a freak,' Braves manager Walt Weiss said after a dominant Sale start at Coors Field. 'He's a Hall of Famer, and those guys are just different. That's what he's been doing pretty much his whole Major League career.' Yeah, pretty much. Sale, of course, had a tough injury-marred stretch from 2019-23, but since joining the Braves in '24, all he's done is go 31-9 with a 2.42 ERA and 171 ERA+."

Sale has stepped up and become an ace for a staff that was hurting for arms. He's a big reason for the team's success and fast start this year, leading all of MLB with their 26-12 record.

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