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With a current record of 52-58 and being 14.5 games back from first place in the AL Central, it’s pretty safe to say that playoff hopes for the Chicago White Sox are pretty much gone.
Not only is their division being dominated by the Kansas City Royals, but they’re also 6.5 games back from being a wild card team. Most of their woes this season can be credited to their atrocious and underachieving hitting this season. The White Sox are currently ranked 28th in runs scored, 20th in BA, 25th in OBP and 25th in wOBA.
Despite the fact that they possess very capable hitters, such as Jose Abreu, who has a slash line of .295/.350/.511 with 21 HRs and 67 RBIs, the White Sox haven’t been able to hit well and produce enough runs in 2015. Therefore, when considering who their team MVP has been so far this season, it only makes sense to look at their pitchers. Actually, there is only one pitcher to look at and his name is Chris Sale (a.k.a. “The Condor”).
Former MLB great Roger Clemens used to have a shoe endorsed by Puma called “Lord of the K’s,” and that moniker is quite fitting for Chris Sale as well. The 193 strikeouts that he currently has ranks him at the top of the AL and second in MLB behind Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Additionally, his impressive K/9 rate of 11.55 is the best in all of baseball and his 1.07 WHIP has him tied for fifth in the AL. Sale also tied recent Hall of Fame inductee Pedro Martinez‘s MLB record for consecutive double-digit strikeout performances with eight.
Needless to say, his pitching this year makes him a clear AL Cy Young Award candidate. As a matter of fact, Sale would easily be the top candidate if his team were playing better and if he didn’t have his current ERA of 3.47. The ERA isn’t bad, but it’s not at the elite level of Sonny Gray‘s 2.06, Scott Kazmir‘s 2.08 or Dallas Keuchel‘s 2.40. It should also come as no surprise to anyone that Sale leads his team’s starters in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, K/9 rate and wins.
In what has been a forgettable 2015 season for the Chicago White Sox, the pitching prowess of Chris Sale has remained a bright spot for the organization. He is their obvious team MVP for 2015 and still has a decent chance at stealing the AL Cy Young Award.
Rojé Smith is a Featured Fantasy Sports Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RoKnowsDFS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
