Detroit Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Moving Up Historic List of Lefties
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal has been dominant on the mound this season. He is currently the frontrunner for the Cy Young Award in the American League and for good reason.
On Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners, Skubal improved his resume with another strong outing. He pitched six innings, surrendering only three hits and one walk, resulting in one earned run.
Nine Mariners hitters were mowed down, putting his season total at an MLB-high 180. That was the seventh time this season he has recorded at least nine strikeouts in a game.
It was his 14th win of the season and he lowered his ERA to 2.53. All three stats, along with a .778 winning percentage, are all tops in baseball in 2024. His ERA+ (169), FIP (2.64) and K/9 (10.8) are also the best in the majors.
The production that Skubal has provided the Tigers this season is certainly award-worthy. But, his dominance as a strikeout pitcher throughout his career has him in some elite territory when it comes to MLB history.
His final strikeout against Seattle on Tuesday gave him 600 on the dot for his career. It was his 96 career start, and 99th overall appearance, making him one of the best left-handed strikeout artists the game has ever seen.
That makes Skubal the seventh-fastest left-handed pitcher in MLB history to reach 600 strikeouts. According to Stats Centre on X, only Herb Score, Rube Waddell, Frank Tanana, Robbie Ray, Scott Kazmir and Oliver Perez did it faster. They did it in 87, 93, 95, 96, 97 and 98 games, respectively.
He is also fifth currently in American League history with 600 strikeouts through 100 starts. The Detroit star has one more to go, and if he can strike out at least four New York Yankees over the weekend, Skubal will move into fourth place, surpassing James Paxton.
(Related) Fewest games to 600 career strikeouts - Left handed pitcher in MLB history:
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) August 14, 2024
87- Herb Score
93- Rube Waddell
95- Frank Tanana
96- Robbie Ray
97- Scott Kazmir
98- Oliver Perez
99- Skubal (Via the 9th of 9 Ks on Tuesday night vs SEA)
100- Clayton Kershaw
100- Jamex Paxton https://t.co/A0o8BU5aXE
Skubal, who made his first All-Star team this season as well, is proving to be the kind of ace franchise dreams of anchoring their staff. The Tigers made the right decision holding onto him through the deadline, as he is one of the foundational pieces of their emergence from this rebuild.
Finding a starting pitcher that can produce in any situation is a tall task. But, Detroit has checked that off their to-do list for the rebuild, as Skubal should anchor this staff, and take down more records, for years to come.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.