Two members of the 2025 Atlanta Braves have cracked the top 20 in MLB Network’s top 100 players for 2025. Starting pitcher Chris Sale came in at No. 20 while Ronald Acuña Jr. ranked No. 16. These two find themselves at their current rankings after being in the most opposite possible situations the year before.

Spring Training debut against the Twins. More From This Game; Atlanta Braves; pitching; in-game highlight; highlight; highlight reel

Out of all of the trades and signings Alex Anthopoulos has been praised for, the Braves trade for Chris Sale has to be the best of the bunch, sending top

Sale also is the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner and the obvious choice to start the season opener against the Padres.

After a string of seasons limited by injuries, Sale rebounded with a stellar debut for the Atlanta Braves last year, winning the NL Cy Young.

Chris Sale made the start against the Twins Saturday and it seems that the bask spasms that he struggled with at the end of last season are a distant memory. The leftie, who first joined the Braves following a trade from the Boston Red Sox in Dec. 2023, pitched two perfect innings to kick off Spring Training.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Chris Sale led the National League with 225 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings last season, when the Atlanta Braves left-hander won his first Cy Young Award at age 35 and in his first season in the NL.

Before Chris Sale pitched in a game for the first time as a Cy Young Award winner, Braves manager Brian Snitker took a second to reflect on the southpaw’s incredible 2024 season. “I saw every pitch an

Fresh off his first Cy Young Award, Chris Sale opened spring training with two perfect innings for the Atlanta Braves.