Braves' Chris Sale Ranked Among Top Aces in MLB

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale was highly ranked on a list of the top aces in the MLB entering the 2025 season.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale | Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale will turn 36 during opening weekend of the 2025 MLB season. But there are still few pitchers that most teams would prefer to have with the ball in his hands in a winner-take-all game.

That's typically the definition of "ace" pitcher. With all the marbles on the line, which pitcher do you want on the mound?

According to Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly, Sale is one of the top aces in the league at the moment. On March 6, Kelly ranked Sale third among every team's ace entering the 2025 season.

"When Sale is healthy, he might be the hardest pitcher in baseball to hit. He was finally healthy again in 2024 and led the sport in wins (18), ERA (2.38), FIP (2.09), HR/9 (0.5), K/9 (11.3) and WAR (6.4)," wrote Kelly.

"If you asked hitters around the league what pitcher they'd least like to face—particularly left-handed ones—Sale would probably be the most popular answer."

Kelly wondered if age will catch up to Sale and impact his "ace" status in 2025. It's also worth asking if Sale will be Atlanta's ace at the end of the season.

Spencer Strider will be back early in the 2025 campaign, and before last year, he was clearly Atlanta's No. 1 pitcher.

Sometimes, MLB teams have two aces. The Braves arguably did last year depending on how one would classify Max Fried.

But for his list, Kelly only considered the top ace from every MLB team, ranking those 30 pitchers. So, it's possible that if Kelly reconstructs his list in September, Sale won't even be on it.

Still, as Kelly explained, it's hard to deny that entering 2025, Sale belongs near the top of the ace list. He won the National League pitching triple crown last season with 18 wins, 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

Sale has also looked sharp this spring, leaving little doubt that he could be great again in 2025.

The only pitchers Kelly had ranked ahead of Sale on his aces list were Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal and Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler. Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes and San Francisco Giants' Logan Webb rounded out the top five on Kelly's aces list.