Since we launched Tigers Minor League Report back in 2019, we’ve had the privilege of watching dozens of prospects grow into major league regulars. One of the very first names we highlighted, and even featured in our earliest videos, was Tarik Skubal. He topped our original TMLR prospect rankings, and from the start it was clear he had the raw stuff to become something special.
Looking back, I sometimes wish we hadn’t paused the site in those early days, if only to better document how these young players developed in real time. Much of our scouting and writing on Skubal from those years can also be found over at Motor City Bengals, but the fact remains: we were among the first to plant the flag on Skubal as a future ace. Now, six years later, that projection has become reality in a way even we couldn’t have fully imagined.
Tarik Skubal’s 2025 season isn’t just a follow-up to his Triple Crown Cy Young campaign from a year ago. It’s a statement: he’s the best pitcher in baseball right now.
According to Baseball-Reference, Skubal leads all pitchers with 6.5 WAR, a full 1.2 points ahead of Houston’s Hunter Brown, and at least two full wins ahead of every other pitcher in the American League. That total already surpasses the 6.4 WAR he posted in 2024 when he became the first Tiger left-hander since Hal Newhouser to win the pitching Triple Crown.
Zeros and Strikeouts
The clearest mark of Skubal’s dominance has been his ability to stack up scoreless outings. In his September 7 start against the White Sox, he threw seven shutout innings, notching his 12th start of at least six innings with zero runs allowed in 2025, breaking his own Tigers record and passing Denny McLain’s total from 1968.  Only Adam Wainwright (2014) has reached that mark in the past 60 years; the last pitchers to surpass it were legends like Bob Gibson and Christy Mathewson.
Strikeouts have come in bunches, too. Skubal has logged 10 double-digit strikeout games this season, one shy of Mickey Lolich’s club record from 1971. He has a chance to break the record tonight against the Marlins.
Comparisons with Tigers Greats
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Hal Newhouser (1944–45): Newhouser won back-to-back MVPs, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Skubal is echoing that feat: a Triple Crown in 2024 and potentially an even better overall season in 2025.
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Mickey Lolich (1971): Lolich piled up 308 strikeouts, still the franchise record. Skubal’s strikeout rate is higher than Lolich’s peak, and he is on pace for consecutive 220+ K seasons.
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Denny McLain (1968): McLain set a franchise mark with 10 scoreless starts of six innings or more. Skubal has already blown past that, sitting in rare company with Gibson and Alexander.
Sustained Dominance
Skubal’s brilliance hasn’t been limited to 2025. Since September 3, 2023, he’s gone 35-8 with a 2.15 ERA and 493 strikeouts over 64 starts. In that span, opponents are hitting just .181 against him with a .512 OPS, essentially turning every hitter into a below-replacement bat.
From his unanimous Cy Young last season to a campaign this year that looks even stronger, Skubal is on a trajectory to join Newhouser and Lolich in the conversation of the greatest lefties in Tigers history. And if he continues at this pace, he may soon stand atop that list.
Chris Brown 
Jerry McKennan