Chris Sale, starting pitcher, Boston Red Sox
Of course, Kershaw isn’t the only pitcher earning MVP consideration in 2017. In his first year with the Red Sox, Sale has been missing bats at a historic clip.
Chris Sale – 101 whiffs! – is one of five pitchers to reach 100 Ks in his first 10 starts of a season (Pedro, Unit, Clemens & Schilling). pic.twitter.com/yo1fE9Dsy1
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) May 30, 2017
Normally, a high strikeout rate comes with a lot of walks and a lot of short outings. But like Kershaw, Sale is anything but normal.
He’s walking only 1.8 batters per nine innings. That’s a solid rate for any pitcher, especially one with such a prolific strikeout total. Sale is also going deep into games. He’s thrown nine quality starts, failed to complete seven innings only twice, and six innings only once. Not even Kershaw can say that.
Moreover, Sale has really helped Boston stay in the mix in what’s been a competitive American League East. The Red Sox are only two games behind the Yankees and sit atop the American League Wild Card race. This is despite an offense that’s last in the American League in home runs, and a pitching staff that’s seen David Price hurt for most of the year, as well as a regression season from Rick Porcello.
Despite that, the team is fine. Sale deserves a great deal of credit for that.