The Atlanta Braves are already on thin ice when it comes to their rotation. We don't know exactly when Spencer Strider is going to return from his hamstring injury and it will be months before Reynaldo Lopez even begins to start throwing again. On top of those struggles is the ongoing saga that is Chris Sale.
Sale has been very vocal in saying that his performance so far this season has not been up to his standards. The reigning NL Cy Young winner has struggled to avoid bats like he is used to and has mechanical issues that have impacted both his velocity and his ability to command all of his pitches. All of that has led up to Sale sporting a very not Sale-like 5.40 ERA heading into the Braves matchup against the Rockies on Wednesday.
While it looked like Sale had been making incremental progress lately in getting his issues worked out, his latest effort (and specifically his fastball velocity) against Colorado should have the Braves and their fans pretty concerned.
Chris Sale didn't pitch badly against the Rockies, but his velo drop could signal trouble
To be clear, Sale made what he had work pretty well and his start looks completely reasonable on paper. His slider was still good and he threw it a LOT in order to get guys out. This is also Coors Field we are talking about where the elevation and weather can make pitchers and their pitches act atypically.
However, after starting the game throwing 93-94 mph with his fastball, it dropped to around 91 by the second and third inning. Sale would occasionally reach back for a little more than that, but it was mostly the low 90's and he moved away from relying on his heater pretty quickly as his start wore on. Brenton Doyle gave the Rockies the lead on a solo homer in the third inning on a 91 mph fastball on the inner third that looked like it had been served on a platter.
Things got even weirder late in the start when Sale was throwing almost all sliders with an occasional fastball (with good velo) thrown in every now and again. Again, the slider was great and he used it to great effect, but Sale isn't a guy that essentially completely abandons his fastball without a good reason.
Sale knows how to pitch well enough that even without his peak stuff, he is usually going to be able to find outs when he needs to. However, at 36 years old and coming off the back injury he dealt with late last season, one wonders if we are witnessing a decline that could be a big problems for a Braves team that does not need any more bad news.