Braves look to back Chris Sale in the Bronx

After the Braves got a gem of a start from Tyler Mahle in his Braves’ debut as the headline trade deadline addition, Chris Sale will look to produce more of the same in the Bronx from the rotation. Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the pinstripes, as he is more of a third starter at this stage of

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What is the story about?

After the Braves got a gem of a start from Tyler Mahle in his Braves’ debut as the headline trade deadline addition, Chris Sale will look to produce more of the same in the Bronx from the rotation. Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the pinstripes, as he is more of a third starter at this stage of his career than the ace he once was, but still a plenty capable starter.

We all know how good Sale has been this season, with a 2.08 ERA, 2.46 FIP, and 2.92 xFIP. He won’t win the Cy Young this year, but

he continues to be one of the best pitchers of the game as he pads his Hall of Fame resume at the age of 37. He’s been an absolute anchor that the Braves have desperately needed, as the starting rotation has crumbled around him this season, providing dominance and bulk innings. His slider continues to be one of the most effective pitches in the game and his fastball velocity is remarkably sitting at what is effectively a career high number (0.1 MPH behind his 23.1 innings at 21, which is his formal career high). This stint in Atlanta has just been a tremendous arrangement for the team and the player, with Sale providing crucial elite level pitching to Atlanta and solidifying himself as a future Hall of Famer, which was in question after so many injuries had derailed his career.

Gerrit Cole is another potential Hall-of-Famer for New York, though likely with some work to do in the final part of his career. At his peak he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, but hasn’t been that for a few years after dealing with some injuries. Cole is sitting at a 3.76 xFIP and a 3.65 FIP this year, which is still a very good pitcher, but a pretty significant drop-off from his dominant peaks. His fastball still sits around 97 MPH, but it has more average movement than the elite rise he used to get on it, while his slider has also lost a touch of its bite. Cole has always been a bit susceptible to the long ball, and a crater in his ground ball rate this year hasn’t helped. Let’s hope the Braves brought their power strokes, as that’s probably the best way to score on Cole, as he still strikes out a solid 9/53 batters per 9 innings and doesn’t walk many either.