Tigers Have One Player Who Stands Out As Team's Early MVP

The Detroit Tigers have emerged as legitimate contenders in the American League and have several players who have helped them get to that point.

They have ridden a top-flight offense and pitching staff to the most wins in baseball (35) entering play on May 27. The Tigers are getting the job done in every facet of the game and are in a position to keep adding to the roster to fill any gaps that have arisen.

In the lineup, the re-emergence of first baseman Spencer Torkelson and shortstop-turned-center-fielder Javier Baez has been the biggest story.

Both looked not to have a regular spot in the lineup entering spring training and are now two of the team’s most important contributors.

Left fielder Riley Greene has been excellent, along with right fielder/designated hitter Kerry Carpenter, catcher Dillon Dingler and second baseman Gleyber Torres.

On the mound, Casey Mize has started to live up to the expectations of being a No. 1 overall pick. Reese Olson was great before hitting the injured list, and the bullpen has been lights out again in 2025.

Is Tarik Skubal the Detroit Tigers MVP This Season?

There are a bunch of players worthy of being named the team’s early MVP, but it is reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal who takes the title in the opinion of Johnny Flores Jr. of The Athletic (subscription required), and rightfully so.

“What Skubal is doing on the mound is the stuff out of video games. Even then, that might not tell the tale of just how dang good he has been. That he’s also doing this as a lefty is just the cherry on top of every pitching nerd’s wildest fantasies,” Flores wrote.

In his most recent outing, he accomplished a Maddux, throwing a complete game with fewer than 100 pitches thrown. 

It was the first complete game in Skubal’s career, and he did it in spectacular fashion, striking out 13 batters along the way. That is the most punchouts in a Maddux ever, and his final pitch of the outing was clocked at 102.6 mph, the hardest thrown pitch of his career.

Another AL Cy Young Award is certainly within reach given his incredible performance thus far in 2025 where he is on pace to create some insane MLB history.