The Detroit Tigers reached the playoffs last season for the first time in 10 years thanks in large part to reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. In 2024, Skubal won the pitching triple crown, leading the American League in wins (18), strikeouts (228) and ERA (2.39). And he’s continued his dominance this spring.
On Saturday, Skubal took the mound for the fourth time in spring training and threw so hard he even surprised himself. While he consistently hit the high 90s with his heater, Skubal struck out Nick Castellanos with a 100.1 MPH fastball, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
“That was 100? Nice,” Skubal responded after learning that his punch out pitch in the fourth inning hit triple digits.
Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal is already in mid-season form
The 28-year-old lefty is eager to pick up where he left off for the Tigers in 2024 and he’s been seeking out competition this spring to get ready for Opening Day.
“A lot of guys don’t want to go on the road, but typically, teams are going to flood their everyday guys in there [when they play at home],” Skubal said after his away game against the Phillies, via MLB.com.
“Everybody competes against each other. People are going to say it doesn’t matter; I can promise you, it matters to almost everybody. It’s competitive and I like that. I like to get those juices flowing with Opening Day coming up,” he added.
Skubal will make his second career Opening Day start in 2025 when the Tigers face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Of course, the World Series champs will begin the new season in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs on March 18. The Tigers will head to LA for their first regular season game on March 27.
There will be additional pressure on Skubal to succeed this year after his stellar 2024 campaign. The Tigers rewarded his Cy Young season with a one-year, $10.15 million contract that avoided arbitration. While Skubal would fetch a larger paycheck on the open market, his new salary is a significant bump in salary as he made $2.65 million last season.
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