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Tarik Skubal Continues to Make History in Quest for Second Straight Cy Young

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Another historical start is in the books for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. The southpaw is looking to become the first American League pitcher since Pedro Martinez to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards, and he seems well on his way to doing so. On Friday, Skubal became the second pitcher in MLB history to reach the 100 strikeout mark with just seven walks through the first 13 starts of the season, joining future Hall of Fame lefty Clayton Kershaw.

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Tarik Skubal Hits 100 Strikeout Plateau in Tigers Win

Southpaw Dominance

Over his last 60 starts, it’s harder to find a more dominant starting pitcher than Tarik Skubal. After the completion of his start on Friday, Skubal joined Clayton Kershaw and Jacob DeGrom as the only three pitchers in MLB history to put up a sub-2.40 ERA with 439 strikeouts and 58 walks.

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On the season, Skubal has 105 strikeouts and seven walks, working with an ungodly 15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. While this number is not sustainable, he would most likely destroy his current career-high of 7.3, which he set back in 2023. It almost feels insulting to suggest anyone else for AL Cy Young, even with the Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet and the New York Yankees’ Max Fried dominating in their own right.

Eyeing the AL MVP

In Skubal’s last 11 starts, he has 95 strikeouts to just three walks. He has a current strikeout percentage of 33.4% and a walk percentage of 2.2%. You just begin to run out of words to describe Tarik Skubal, who might be the greatest lefty we have seen since prime Clayton Kershaw. Skubal’s season this year is starting to look and feel like Kershaw’s 2014 season, when he won the National League MVP and Cy Young.

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Skubal is looking to follow in the footsteps of Detroit Tigers legend Justin Verlander, who is the last American League pitcher to win AL MVP, something he did back in 2011. While on pace for 262 strikeouts in 207 innings, Skubal has the opportunity to challenge Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh for the award. It might seem unlikely given the talent of those two players, but if Skubal keeps up this pace, he might be joining the history books yet again.

The Superior Ace

Right now, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better starting pitcher in the game of baseball than Tarik Skubal. If I had the choice to pick any pitcher in the league to win me one game, it’d be this guy. He has a feisty changeup that has some crazy vertical movement and a fastball that dominates hitters from both sides of the plate.

His ability to get outs on lefties and righties super effectively is what makes him so special. Right now, lefties are hitting .159 against him with a .183 on-base percentage. Righties have a little bit more fortune but are still only hitting .215 against him with a .557 OPS. All of Skubal’s six home runs he has surrendered this season have come from the right side of the plate.

Game on the line, season hanging in the balance, give the ball to Tarik Skubal and everyone else just get out of the way. He can handle his own against the very best, and is continuing to show it in 2025.

 

Photo Credit: © Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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