Tigers Announce Tarik Skubal News on Thursday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Oct 23, 2025 6:08 PM ET

The Detroit Tigers fell short in the ALDS, losing in five games to the Seattle Mariners and missing the championship series for the second straight year. But their early exit had nothing to do with Tarik Skubal, the left-handed ace who delivered one of the most dominant postseason performances of 2025.

Skubal pitched in three playoff games, logging 20 2/3 innings with 36 strikeouts, a 1.74 ERA and one win. In Game 1 of the AL Wild Card round against the Cleveland Guardians, he made history as the first left-handed pitcher ever to strike out 14 batters while allowing one run or fewer in a postseason game.

His October success came as no surprise. Skubal was incredible during the regular season, starting 31 games and posting a 2.21 ERA, 0.891 WHIP and 241 strikeouts over 195 1/3 innings with a 13–6 record. At 28, the southpaw has firmly established himself as one of the most dominant arms in the game.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29)© Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

As Skubal prepares for another season, he is destined for a lucrative long-term contract as the best pitcher in the American League, and with Detroit being hesitant to pay top arms over the past decade, his name has circulated in potential trades.

Regardless, the Tigers took the time to announce Skubal had received an exciting achievement for his efforts in 2025. Skubal had been named to the Sporting News All-Star team for a second straight year. “Congratulations to @TarikSkubal on being named to the @sportingnews American League All-Star Team for the second year in a row!” the Tigers wrote on X.

Congratulations to @TarikSkubal on being named to the @sportingnews American League All-Star Team for the second year in a row! https://t.co/JybwLic3nm
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) October 23, 2025

This is an impressive feat, as Sporting News only selects one player for each position in each league. “Meantime, starting pitchers Tarik Skubal of the Tigers and Paul Skenes of the Pirates were near-unanimous choices by AL and NL execs, respectively, in the balloting conducted from Sept. 10 to Oct. 10,” Sporting News wrote in the article announcing the winners, indicating Skubal won near unanimously.

Skubal is no stranger to winning awards for his performances on the mound. Last year in his full breakout season, he won the AL Cy Young Award and remains the frontrunner for 2025 to win it in back-to-back seasons. He also earned the second consecutive All-Star selection of his career. Whether Skubal remains in Detroit or is moved to another contender, he remains one of the league’s top arms and continues to be recognized for it.

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

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