Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Ranked No. 17 Best Player Heading Into 2025
The Detroit Tigers have found their ace after the last two seasons of production that lefty Tarik Skubal has given them.
It culminated in his first American League Cy Young Award in 2024, as well as the American League Triple Crown.
Skubal played a big part in leading the Tigers to the playoffs this year, making their first appearance in October since 2014.
It was a fantastic campaign for the left-hander, and it has led to much more recognition for his efforts on the field.
Fangraphs recently released their top-100 player projections for 2025, with Skubal ranking 17th on the list.
Only two pitchers ranked higher than Skubal, and a case can be made that Jacob deGrom, who ranked 12th, should not be ranked as highly with his extensive injury history.
Since the start of 2021, deGrom has pitched in only 35 games, as injuries have severely limited his time on the field.
In that same span, Skubal has pitched in 98 games, carrying a 3.28 ERA across 539 1/3 innings in that time.
In 2024, Skubal pitched to a 2.39 ERA across 192 innings in 31 starts with 228 strikeouts and a 170 ERA+.
The lefty was voted the unanimous American League Cy Young, with his ERA, ERA+, and win percentage (.818) leading the AL, while his strikeouts, bWAR (6.3), and wins (18) led all of MLB.
It was a fantastic showing from the lefty that was over a year in the making, after making adjustments to his mechanics and pitch mix while injured for the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023.
Skubal is now entering the heart of his prime years, with 2025 being his age-28 season, and that could prove to be massive for Detroit.
While Fangraphs may project Skubal as only the 17th-best player in MLB, he could realistically be much higher, with a floor of top-15, and a ceiling of top-10.
