The Detroit Tigers selected Skubal in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB draft,[5][6] and he signed with the team with a $350,000 signing bonus.[7] After the draft, Skubal spent his first professional season with the Gulf Coast Tigers, Connecticut Tigers, and West Michigan Whitecaps, pitching to a combined 3–0 record and 0.40 ERA in 22+1⁄3 innings pitched.[8] He started 2019 with the Lakeland Flying Tigers.[9] He would impress throughout the season and earn a call-up to the Erie SeaWolves on July 5. Over his first three starts with Erie, he had a 0.56 ERA with 34 strikeouts, giving up five hits in 16 innings. His performances over the season raised his ranking in MLB.com's 2019 Prospect Watch from a preseason #20 ranking in the Tigers' organization to a #4 spot at the midseason update on July 27.[10] He finished the season at Double-A Erie with a 2–3 record, 2.13 ERA, 1.02 WHIP. Opponents hit just .168 off him. Overall in 2019, in High-A and Double-A, Skubal struck out 179 batters in 122+2⁄3 innings.
The Tigers invited Skubal to spring training in 2020.[11] On August 18, Skubal was recalled from the Tigers' satellite training facility in Toledo, and he made his MLB debut later that day.[12][13] On August 29, Skubal earned his first major league win, besting the Minnesota Twins. In five innings pitched, Skubal allowed two earned runs and three hits while striking out two and walking none in the Tigers' 4–2 win.[14] With the 2020 Detroit Tigers, Skubal appeared in 8 games, compiling a 1–4 record with 5.63 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched.[15] His cutter, which averaged 95.4 mph (153.5 km/h), was the fastest cutter of any major league pitcher in 2020.[16]
2021
On March 24, 2021, new Tigers manager A. J. Hinch announced that Skubal had made the Opening Day roster out of spring training and would be in the Tigers' starting rotation.[17] On July 3, Skubal recorded his 100th strikeout of the season, becoming the first Tiger rookie ever to strike out at least 100 batters before the All-Star break.[18] On August 25, against the St. Louis Cardinals, Skubal recorded strikeouts for the first six outs of the game, finishing with ten strikeouts in five innings of work.[19] On September 25, Skubal reached 200 career strikeouts in his first 38 appearances, the fewest number of games in Tigers history that a pitcher needed to reach that milestone. Overall in 2021, Skubal pitched in 31 games, starting all but two of them, posting an 8–12 record and 4.34 ERA while striking out 164 batters in 149+1⁄3 innings.[15]
2022
Skubal continued to pitch in the Tigers starting rotation in 2022. After posting a 7–8 record with a 3.52 ERA, 111 ERA+, 1.16 WHIP and 117 strikeouts in 117+2⁄3 innings, he was placed on the injured list on August 3 with fatigue in his pitching arm. On August 17, the Tigers announced Skubal had undergone flexor tendon surgery, definitively ending his 2022 season and likely sidelining him for the beginning of 2023.[20]
2023
On March 14, 2023, the Tigers moved Skubal to the 60-day injured list, stating that he wasn't expected back on the mound until summer.[21] He was activated for his season debut on July 4.[22] He was named American League Pitcher of the Month in September, finishing his final five starts with a 4–0 record and 0.90 ERA.[23] In 2023, he pitched 80+1⁄3 innings over 15 starts, posting a 7–3 record with a 2.80 ERA and 102 strikeouts.[24] He ranked in the top 4 percent of MLB pitchers in 2023 at earning strikeouts and limiting walks and his expected ERA was in the top 1 percent of pitchers.[25]
2024: Triple Crown and Cy Young Award
Skubal started for the Tigers on Opening Day of the 2024 season.[26][27] On April 28, Skubal became the first pitcher in Tigers franchise history to strike out 40+ batters through his first six starts with fewer than nine walks (he had 41 strikouts and only six walks to date).[23] In a May 5 game against the New York Yankees, Skubal became the first Tigers pitcher in over 100 years to strike out 12 or more batters without issuing a walk. The last Tiger pitcher to do so was Eric Erickson (in a 16-inning complete game) on May 24, 1918.[28]
On July 7, Skubal was selected to represent the Tigers in the 2024 All-Star Game being held July 16, along with teammate Riley Greene. At the time of his selection, Skubal had a 10–3 record, 2.37 ERA, a league-best 0.90 WHIP and 132 strikeouts in 110 innings.[29] He pitched a 1-2-3 second inning in the All-Star Game.[30]
Skubal finished the season with 18 wins (18–4 record), a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts, and became the first pitcher to win the Triple Crown since Shane Bieber in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. He and fellow Cy Young awardee Chris Sale were the first pitchers to earn the Triple Crown in a full season since 2011, when both Justin Verlander (AL) and Clayton Kershaw (NL) earned the distinction.[31][32] Additionally, Skubal led the American League with a 170 ERA+ and 2.50 fielding-independent pitching (FIP) rating, while leading all major league pitchers with a 6.3 Wins Against Replacement (WAR).
After the season, Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award for the first time in his career.[33] On the strength of his Triple Crown campaign, he won the Cy Young Award unanimously, earning all 30 first-place votes.[34]
Pitch selection
Skubal throws both four-seam and sinking two-seam fastballs, each averaging around 97 miles per hour, with his four-seam fastball having reached as fast as 102 MPH. His off-speed pitches include a slider that typically lands between 87 to 91 mph, however, he will occasionally ramp it up to a ‘turbo’ slider, which can reach 96 mph. Since 2023, his best and most used off-speed pitch is a changeup that averages 86.3 mph with an elite seam-shifted wake. The changeup has accounted for the lowest contact rate (55.3%) and highest outside-the-strike-zone swing rate (39.6%) of all his pitches. He’ll also occasionally throw a curveball with a knuckle-curve grip that averages 78.5 mph.[35]
Personal life
Skubal's parents, Russ and Laura, live in Kingman, Arizona. His father is a teacher and coach.[36] Skubal has three biological brothers—Tyler, Trevor, and Trent—and one step-brother, Will.[37]
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