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Cardinals First-Round Pick Compared to Reigning Cy Young Winner Tarik Skubal

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jacob Webb | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 4:26 PM ET

On Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals selected LHP Liam Doyle with the fifth overall selection of the MLB Draft. Doyle is a 21-year-old fireballing lefty out of the University of Tennessee. A first-team All-American and Perfect Game’s Pitcher of the Year, Doyle has recently received some noteworthy MLB player comparisons.

Tarik Skubal is arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball right now. In addition to starting tonight’s All-Star Game for the American League, he is also the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. Skubal is 10-3 with a 2.23 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 2025. He is currently the betting favorite to repeat as AL Cy Young winner.

There are many reasons for Cardinals fans to be excited about their first-round draft selection. Maybe the most eye-popping of those reasons, though, is that before the draft on Sunday, Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly compared Liam Doyle to Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal.

“When you watch Doyle pitch, both his delivery and outward swagger give you Tarik Skubal vibes,” Kelly wrote.

“Beyond just the optics, Doyle, per MLB Pipeline, his fastball ‘operates in the mid-90s and peaks at 100 mph,’ which is also true of Skubal. Doyle is still refining his slider, but that's one of the pitches that has made Skubal successful as well.”

“It's not a perfect comp, but if Doyle winds up anything like Skubal—who might repeat as the AL Cy Young Award winner in 2025—he might be the best pick in this class.”

In addition to Skubal, Doyle has also been compared to 2021 AL Cy Young Winner Robbie Ray and soon-to-be Cardinals Hall of Famer Al Hrabosky. The Hrabosky comparison came from Tennessee Baseball Head Coach Tony Vitello, who is a St. Louis native.

Many of the comparisons come as a result of Doyle’s high fastball usage and effectiveness, along with his high strikeout numbers. Doyle recorded 164 strikeouts for Tennessee in 2025, which ranked second in all of Division 1 baseball, only behind Kade Anderson, who was picked third overall by the Mariners.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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