January 8, 2026

Atlanta Braves left-handed pitcher Chris Sale was coming off a dominant 2024 campaign, in which he posted a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 32.1% K rate en route to winning the NL Cy Young Award. However, his 2025 campaign was not as successful, as the southpaw logged only 125 2/3 innings as he spent a majority of the season on the 60-day IL with a fractured left ribcage. While he was a disappointment at his near second-round price tag last season, Sale should be back on the radar of fantasy managers in 2025, given his lower 35.6 ADP on NFBC. When on the bump, the 36-year-old was nearly just as effective as he was during his Cy Young campaign, posting a 2.58 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP. He generated a near-identical 32.4% K% and a 2.84 xERA (compared to 32.1% K% and a 2.80 xERA the previous summer). More importantly, when he returned to the mound in late August, following his lengthy absence, Sale posted a strong 2.72 ERA with a 0.83 WHIP over his final 36 1/3 innings to finish his campaign, suggesting he did not have any lasting effects from the rib injury. Managers should expect Sale to remain the lead option of the Atlanta rotation and enter 2026 with the potential to produce elite strikeout numbers and carry high-end ratios. His overall 92nd percentile xERA suggests Sale could be just as dominant in 2026, and his primary pitch, his slider, remained elite, generating a .194 xwOBA and a 39.8% whiff rate. Given that he looked like his normal self post-injury, a repeat of his 2024 Cy Young campaign is not out of the question even at age 36.--Andy Smith