Chris Sale projected to have above 3.00 ERA in ’15

Apr 11, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) during the first inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

On FanGraphs.com, they have a projection service from Steamer Projections, and they’ve projected all of the Chicago White Sox pitching stats for the 2015 season.

Today, let’s look at the projections of left-handed ace Chris Sale and what his current projections are for the ’15 season.

For Sale, the projections include a 14-9 record with a 3.01 ERA.

Sep 24, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) warms up before the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

I think he’ll have an ERA under 3.00, but I’m always going to want to see that from the ace of the White Sox pitching staff. Plus, I believe the White Sox offense will be improved over last season, giving me the feeling Sale will have more than 14 wins in ’15.

The Steamer Projections have Sale pitching in 30 games equaling 192.0 innings. The stat I really like is the strikeout numbers of potentially 220 for the ’15 season, with a WHIP of 1.09.

Sale’s K/9 numbers are being projected at 10.30 and his BB/9 is being looked to be 2.29. His WAR (wins above replacement) is being projected at 4.7.

The projection service also has Sale allowing 159 hits, 19 home runs, 49 walks and having a FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) of 3.07. A FIP is described as the following by FanGraphs as:

"“(FIP) measures what a player’s ERA would look like over a given period of time if the pitcher were to have experienced league average results on balls in play and league average timing.”"

Last season, Sale was 12-4 with a 2.17 ERA in 26 starts. He pitched 174.0 innings, where he struck out 208 batters. He had a FIP of 2.57 and a WHIP of 0.966. He did have a K/9 of 10.8, which was the best in baseball last season.

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