Tigers’ Tarik Skubal repeats as AL Cy Young Award winner

Tarik Skubal confirmed his greatness in 2025.

The Detroit Tigers left-handed ace won his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, edging out Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet and Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown in a vote conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Skubal becomes the first pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards since Jacob deGrom in 2018-19 and the first AL pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000.

Skubal finished 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts in 195⅓ innings, leading the AL in both baseball benchmark WAR (6.5) and FanGraphs WAR (6.6) while also leading qualified pitchers in ERA, strikeout rate (32.2%), lowest walk rate (4.4%), OBP allowed (.240) and OPS allowed (.559).

Using a blistering fastball averaging nearly 98 mph and one of the game’s best changeups that limited hitters to a .154 average and recorded 110 of his strikeouts, Skubal did not give up a run in 12 of his 31 starts, the most scoreless starts of at least six innings in Tigers history and the most in the majors since Adam Wainwright in 2014.

Skubal recorded double-digit strikeouts in 10 outings and pitched the most dominant game in the majors in 2025 when he threw a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts against the Cleveland Guardians on May 25, requiring just 94 pitches. His game rating of 96 was best in the AL in 2025 and tied Sonny Gray for first in the majors.

A ninth-round pick out of Seattle University in 2018, Skubal endured Tommy John surgery in college and a few injuries early in his MLB career after reaching the majors in 2020, but with good health and improved command of the fastball, he put it all together over the past two seasons, going 31-10 with a 2.30 ERA while leading the AL both seasons in ERA.

But his season ended in disappointment when, for the second year in a row, he started Game 5 of the American League Division Series, only to watch the Tigers lose both games. In that playoff, against Seattle, he allowed one run in six innings with 13 strikeouts and came away with a 2-1 lead, but the Mariners ultimately won 3-2 in 15 innings.

Skubal has one more season before hitting free agency. If the Tigers can’t sign him to an extension — his agent is Scott Boras, and Boras’ clients rarely sign extensions this close to free agency — the Tigers could consider trade possibilities this offseason.

He is one of five Detroit pitchers to win the Cy Young Award, joining Denny McLain (1968 and 1969), reliever Willie Hernandez (1984), Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013).