Starting Pitcher
Sep 24, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) tips his cap towards the outfield after third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
2015: Chris Sale (ESPN Projections: 17-7 record/2.73 ERA/232 SO)
2005: Jose Contreras (2005 Stats: 15-7 record/3.61 ERA/154 SO)
Jose Conteras wasn’t the ace of the White Sox staff in 2005. That title belonged to Mark Buehrle, but he did start Game One of the World Series and that’s why he’s being compared with Chris Sale, who unquestionably would start the first game of the Fall Classic for the South Side.
Jose Contreras
(baseball-reference.com)
The numbers paint a pretty clear picture that Sale is a better pitcher than Contreras. Contreras had a career year in ’05, but his numbers would probably make him the No. 4 starter on the White Sox’s current staff, which says a lot about the quality of this year’s rotation.
Sale is a Cy Young award candidate going into ’15 and if he can stay healthy I honestly believe he supplants Felix Hernandez as the best pitcher in the American League and takes home the hardware.
No offense to Contreras, but Sale was made to start a World Series game.
Edge: Chris Sale
Next: White Sox: The Rest of the Rotation