Left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal will serve as the Detroit Tigers' Opening Day starter, the team announced Friday morning.
Manager AJ Hinch publicly revealed his decision a few hours earlier, per MLB.com's Jason Beck and others.
Eduardo Rodríguez was the Tigers' Opening Day starter in 2022 and 2023, while Matthew Boyd earned the honor in 2020 and 2021. Rodríguez signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in December, however, while Boyd is a free agent and still recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last summer.
That has opened the door for Skubal, a 27-year-old entering his fifth season of big league action.
It appears as if the lefty has successfully pounced on that opportunity, beating out veteran free agent additions Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda for the top spot in Detroit's rotation.
Skubal was a ninth-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, but it didn't take him long to emerge as one of the more prominent young pitchers in the sport. MLB Pipeline had Skubal pegged as the No. 5 prospect in the Tigers' farm system and the No. 24 prospect in baseball entering 2021, a few months after he had made his big league debut.
The southpaw was a consistent member of Detroit's starting rotation in 2020 and 2021, and he managed to step up a few levels in 2022 and 2023, despite injuries costing him big chunks of time.
Skubal has improved upon his winning percentage and ERA every year, topping out with some career highs last season. Skubal went 7-3 with a 2.80 ERA, 0.896 WHIP, 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 2.0 WAR, although the flexor tendon surgery that knocked him out early in 2022 limited him to just 15 starts in 2023.
For his career, Skubal is 23-27 with a 3.87 ERA, 1.147 WHIP, 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings and a 4.9 WAR.
Skubal and the Tigers avoided arbitration earlier this winter when they compromised on a $2.65 million for the upcoming season. He has two more years of arbitration eligibility before he is slated to hit free agency.
FanGraphs' Steamer projections have Skubal slated to go 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA, 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 4.1 WAR in 2024.
The Tigers will open their regular season slate on the road against the Chicago White Sox on March 28. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET.
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