AL Central: Who is the top starting pitcher?
By Brett Pnazek
1. Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox)
Sep 17, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
WHIP: 0.97
ERA: 2.17
K/9: 10.76
Quality Starts: 21
You can call me biased with Sale as the No. 1 pitcher in the division, but the stats don’t lie that when he is on the mound he is better than the other two.
In each of his three years as a starter Sale has averaged over nine K/9. His only concern have been injury related and while he hasn’t had anything of great significance he has only pitched over 200 innings once, and has never started more than 30 games.
Sale is already injured this year, but should not miss more than one or two starts. While he’s never won a Cy Young he’s been a contender in all three years as a starter finishing sixth, fifth and third respectively over the past three seasons.
Next: White Sox contract extension candidates