The Future of AL Central Pitching is on Display
The Royals selected right-hander Brady Singer 237 picks before the Tigers picked lefty Tarik Skubal in the 2018 MLB draft. A little over two years after their draft night, the two clashed in a rookie vs. rookie pitchers’ duel at Comerica Park.
Quick video hits
Singer’s performance was very much a follow-up act to his last outing when he carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against Cleveland on Sept. 10th.
The 24-year old began the night by coming up one pitch shy of an immaculate inning in the first frame. The first 10 Tigers batters were retired, victimized primarily by Singer’s formidable fastball-slider combination.
Singer, the 18th overall selection in 2018, ultimately pitched six scoreless innings, allowed two hits, and walked one en route to his second consecutive win and quality start.
Tarik Skubal, who slipped to the ninth round of the 2018 draft (255th overall) after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, logged a quality start of his own on Wednesday. His fastball command was brilliant early on, unlike his previous start against St. Louis, which only lasted two innings.
Skubal’s eight strikeouts were a career-high, and he produced 17 whiffs, nine of which came off his fastball, while the changeup was responsible for the other six. The 23-year-old retired 14 of the 15 batters he faced after allowing a two-run home run to Salvador Perez in the first inning.
However, the mistake to Perez was all the insurance Kansas City needed to claim a 4-0 shutout win.
“He’s really talented,’’ Tarik Skubal said. “I remember hearing about him in college, but I never saw him live like I did tonight.’’
Mize vs. Bieber
Comerica Park is an ideal location to keep an eye on this week if you’d like to examine the present and future of pitching in the AL Central.
Thursday brings in a new series but continues the same trend of highly anticipated pitching matchups.
Tigers RHP Casey Mize (0-1, 5.85 ERA) will face Shane Bieber (7-1, 1.52 ERA) in the first of a four-game series between the Tigers and Indians.
Bieber, 25, was selected in round four of the 2016 draft and has matured into the favorite to win this year’s AL Cy Young Award.
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