Detroit Tigers Teammate Knew Immediately Tarik Skubal Was the Real Deal
The 2024 season was a special one for Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal.
A ninth-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft by the team, he quickly moved up the ranks as one of the best prospects in baseball. He was a top-20 prospect at some outlets by 2021 after making his Major League debut during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign.
The talent for the lefty always seemed to be there. He succeeded at every level of the Minor Leagues, quickly earning promotions and making it to the majors only two years after being selected following a collegiate career with the Seattle Redhawks.
Every season in the Major Leagues, Skubal’s production improved. His ERA has dropped each year, as he quickly became one of the most dominant starters not only in the American League but all of baseball.
The only thing that had held him back to this point was health.
Skubal made 21 starts in 2022 and only 15 in 2023, but the production was stellar. If he could figure out how to stay healthy, opponents were going to be in trouble.
In 2024, he finally figured it out.
Making 31 starts, he won the AL Triple Crown for pitchers recording 18 victories with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts. His .818 winning percentage, 170 ERA+ and 2.50 FIP all led the AL as well. A 6.3 WAR was the best among pitchers in the entire sport.
That level of production resulted in Skubal earning his first selection to the All-Star game and a unanimous Cy Young Award victory.
There were definitely some detractors who didn’t believe that Skubal would ever reach that level of dominance. But, one of his teammates, relief pitcher Will Vest, knew that he would one day become the best pitcher in baseball.
In 2018, while both were members of the Class-A West Michigan Whitecaps, Vest saw the Seattle product at work for the first time.
Only two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Skubal was coming out of the bullpen as a little-known prospect. He quickly made a name for himself with the incredible stuff he showed on the mound.
“It was remarkable,” Vest recalled in October of the appearance, via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. “And I was like, ‘Dude, this guy can pitch.’”
Pitching against the South Bend Cubs, Skubal entered the game with two outs in the sixth inning with two runners on. He struck out outfielder Austen Wade of the Cubs on six pitches, putting him away with a powerful inside pitch.
In the seventh inning, the talented lefty struck out the side, overpowering the South Bend hitters with relative ease. In total, he threw 3.1 hitless innings in what was just the start of his dominance.
It was something Vest remembers fondly, as they have moved along the organization together and he now pitches in late-inning relief, something following Skubal. It is a journey the reliever has loved every stop of.
“Man, it’s hard to explain, and it’s been fun to watch,” Vest said. “You almost become a fan watching it.”
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.