Chris Sale Becomes Fastest MLB Pitcher With 2,500 Strikeouts

Chris Sale headlines a dominant strikeout era in MLB, becoming the fastest to 2,500 strikeouts.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

In the modern baseball era, Blake Snell leads the majors in strikeouts per nine innings (11.17) for pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched. Chris Sale sits second (11.11) while reaching the 2,500 plateau in Ks on Thursday. He accomplished that feat after pitching 2,026.0 innings, which is the lowest total all-time. 

Chris Sale is the FASTEST pitcher to 2,500 strikeouts in MLB history! 👏 pic.twitter.com/2PQhuZluG1

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 30, 2025

Chris Sale Vs. The Best Active Pitchers

When at his best from 2015 to 2017, Sale struck out 815 batters over 649.2 innings. Only once over the past seven years has he pitched more than 160.0 innings (177.2 with 225 strikeouts in 2024). His strikeouts per nine ranked the highest in 2018 (13.5) and 2019 (13.3), but Sale only pitched 305.1 innings over his 52 starts with Boston due to injuries.

Five other active pitchers rank in the top 10 in major league history.

• 3rd – Robbie Ray (11.01 K/9 – 1,322 innings)
• 4th – Jacob deGrom (10.87 K/9 – 1,430.1 innings)
• 5th – Max Scherzer (10.65 K/9 – 2,881.0 innings)
• 7th – Yu Darvish (10.59 K/9) – 1,706.1 innings)
• 9th – Gerritt Cole (10.37 K/9 – 1,954.0 innings)

Chris Sale Vs. Best Strikeout Pitchers Of All Time

For comparison, Nolan Ryan (all-time strikeout leader – 5,714 over 5,386.0 innings) averaged only 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings in his career, with his peak coming in 1987 (11.5 per nine). He finished with over 300 strikeouts six times in his career (329, 383, 367, 327, 341, and 301) while leading the league in strikeouts on 11 occasions.

Walter Johnson pitched the third-most innings (5,914.1) in the history of baseball, ranking him ninth all-time in strikeouts (3,509) despite averaging only 5.3 Ks per nine innings. 

2025 MLB Strikeout Leaders

This season, Tarik Skubal leads the American League in BB/9 (0.9) and K/9 (12.1), which bodes well for an incredible year if sustained over the next four months. He is 30-9 over his last 57 starts with a 2.51 ERA, 0.900 WHIP, and 422 strikeouts (11.1 per nine) over 341.0 innings.

Paul Skenes is just beginning his major league journey. He checks the winning boxes in ERA (2.15), WHIP (0.916), and BAA (.187), but his strikeouts per nine innings (9.2) are well below his rookie success (11.5 K/9). 

The National League leader in strikeouts (101) in 2025 is MacKenzie Gore as the calendar approaches the end of May. He’s averaging 13.3 K/9 this year. Garrett Crochet has pitched only 294.0 innings so far in his career, but he is on an elite pace in strikeouts per nine innings (11.7).