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Just give Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal the AL Cy Young Award
Sometimes things are just that obvious, and in the case of Detroit Tigers' left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal, it's obvious that he should win the 2024 AL Cy Young Award.
Of course, the rest of the candidates deserve a shout-out, at least. Skubal was announced as a finalist on Monday evening alongside Kansas City Royals righty Seth Lugo and Cleveland Guardians righty reliever Emmanuel Clase.
The Baseball Writers Association of America will vote on the winner with the announcement coming on Nov. 20 on MLB Network, but they may as well come out right now and give the award to Skubal.
At the top of his game.
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) November 11, 2024
Congratulations to @TarikSkubal on being named a finalist for AL Cy Young! pic.twitter.com/yXuj8D51B9
He was the centerpiece of a Tigers team that swung way above its weight class this season. Every time he came up in the rotation it was basically a guaranteed win (he boasted an 18-4 record) and it was arguably his presence in the rotation that allowed the Tigers to move forward with manager A.J. Hinch's "Skubal and then pitching chaos" philosophy that rocketed the Tigers to a fantastic second half of the season.
"He was everything for us," Hinch said Monday on MLB Network (h/t Detroit Free Press). "When you needed someone to put up a big performance, he was our guy. When you needed someone to punch out somebody to get us out of an inning, he was our guy. When you needed someone to show incredible competitive emotion, he was our guy. We leaned on him for so much leadership and dominant performance, and he delivered in all ways."
A lefty with an unhittable four-seam fastball that he was never afraid to throw up-and-in on a batter, Skubal boasted a 2.39 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 228 strikeouts, which led MLB.
More must-reads:
- BBWAA announces its 2024 awards finalists
- Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal named finalists for Cy Young
- The '1984 World Champion Detroit Tigers' quiz
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