Braves Chris Sale Ranked Among Top Starting Pitchers in MLB for 2026

Whatever has clicked since he's arrived to the Atlanta Braves, it's led to Chris Sale being a top arm in the game again

Sale remains on top of the world while with the Braves | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Chris Sale once again received high recognition this week from MLB Network. The Atlanta Braves' starting pitcher was named the No. 4 starting pitcher in baseball. Despite the missed time, only three arms could be ranked ahead of him.

The praise comes with his ability to overcome yet another major injury to have some of the best numbers among his peers. His strikeout rate of 32.4% was ranked second in the game among those who pitched at least 100 innings.

Chris Sale is the No. 4 starting pitcher on @MLBNow's #Top10RightNow. pic.twitter.com/6jELjEmfR5

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 29, 2026

It's not too surprising who are the three ranked ahead of Sale. The reigning Cy Young Award winners, Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes, are first and second respectively. Zach Wheeler is third.

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While this doesn't necessarily factor into how The Shedder ranks the Top-10, analyst Brian Kenny pointed out where stands all time among the best using the stat, ERA+. His career 141 ERA+ is ranked fifth overall among those with 2000 innings pitched since 1920. Some of his peers on this list include Clayton Kershaw, Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens.

Needless to say, this acquisition continues to be one the Braves would make again. It feels like that's said every time he receives praise at this point. However, there is a reason for that. When you have the rise and fall and rise again that he had in his career, you have to highlight what could be seen as a key turning point. That turning point was going to Atlanta.

Sale is coming off his follow-up to his Cy Young-winning season. If it wasn't for his injury, there is a solid chance that he would have at least been a finalist again. After a shaky first five starts of the season, he had a 1.76 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP across 102 1/3 innings pitched in 16 starts.

If he hadn't missed those two months, perhaps he would have taken his overall season stats a step further and made a case to win another Cy Young. What's done is done, but it makes for an interesting what-if.

He enters his age 37 season. It's the last year of his contract with the Braves. Whether or not this is it is up in the air, and that's for both his time with the Braves and his time pitching in the majors. One thing is for sure: he's in a position to potentially either go out with a bang or continue this late-career dominance on his own accord. He fought to get that choice back, and he certainly has.