Tarik Skubal

Tarik Skubal is the Detroit Tigers left-hander who has become the best pitcher in the American League, a back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner and 2024 pitching Triple Crown champion. A hard-throwing ace with a devastating changeup, he headed into the 2026 All-Star break as the front-runner to make it three Cy Youngs in a row.

By Alexandre Le Hégarat · datastats · Updated July 19, 2026

Who is Tarik Skubal?

Tarik Skubal is an American left-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, widely regarded as the best starter in the American League. Born 20 November 1996 in Hayward, California, he grew up in Kingman, Arizona, and is of paternal Czech descent. The Tigers selected him in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft, a modest starting point for a player who has since become one of the most feared arms in the game.

Skubal broke through as a bona fide ace in 2024, when he won the AL Cy Young Award and became the first American League pitcher since Justin Verlander in 2011 to claim the pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He backed it up with a second straight Cy Young in 2025, putting him among a rare group of pitchers to win the award in consecutive seasons.

His game is built on power and precision. At 6 ft 3 in, Skubal pairs a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s with one of the best changeups in baseball, plus a hard slider and a knuckle-curve. That mix makes him almost equally tough on left- and right-handed hitters, and it has turned him into the kind of strikeout artist who can carry a rotation on his own.

By the 2026 All-Star break he was again the dominant pitcher in the league, with a 3.09 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and an 89-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio, once more an All-Star and the front-runner for a third consecutive Cy Young. His excellence, and his contract situation, have also made him the most talked-about name in trade rumors, with the Tigers setting a steep price on a pitcher they have built their resurgence around. Sources: Wikipedia, MLB.com, Baseball-Reference, Yahoo Sports.

People also ask

Tarik Skubal plays his home games for the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. He grew up in Kingman, Arizona, where he still has strong ties and has donated to the local Little League, and Arizona remains his home base in the offseason. His exact private address is not public. Sources: Wikipedia, MLB.com.

Tarik Skubal is American. He was born in Hayward, California, and grew up in Kingman, Arizona. He is of paternal Czech descent, and his surname reflects those roots. Sources: Wikipedia, Baseball-Reference.

Skubal was born on 20 November 1996, which makes him 29 years old in July 2026. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft and reached the majors in 2020. Sources: Wikipedia, Baseball-Reference.

Tarik Skubal stands 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) and is listed at around 240 pounds. His size and long lever help generate the mid-to-upper-90s fastball that anchors his arsenal. Sources: Baseball-Reference, MLB.com.

Skubal has won the American League Cy Young Award twice, in 2024 and 2025, joining a short list of pitchers to win the honor in back-to-back seasons. In 2024 he also captured the AL pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Sources: Yahoo Sports, Sports Illustrated.

Skubal is a power left-hander built around a fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s, paired with one of the best changeups in baseball. He also throws a sharp slider and a knuckle-curve, giving him swing-and-miss weapons against both left- and right-handed hitters. Sources: MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.

Skubal headed into the 2026 All-Star break as the dominant arm in the American League, posting a 3.09 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and an 89-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio across his first 13 starts and 75.2 innings. He was again an All-Star and the front-runner for a third straight Cy Young. Sources: RotoWire, Sports Illustrated.

Yes. Skubal was named an American League All-Star in 2024, 2025 and 2026, cementing his status as one of the faces of the sport. His All-Star selections have come alongside his Cy Young honors as the Tigers rebuilt into contenders around him. Sources: Wikipedia, MLB.com.

As one of the best pitchers in baseball on a contract that runs down over the next couple of seasons, Skubal has drawn heavy trade speculation, with contenders viewing an ace of his caliber as a rare available prize. The Tigers, however, have set a very high asking price, reflecting how much they value him. Sources: Yahoo Sports, Pinstripe Alley.

In 2024 Skubal became the first American League pitcher since Justin Verlander in 2011 to win the pitching Triple Crown, leading the AL in wins, earned run average and strikeouts in the same season. It was the centerpiece of the campaign that earned him his first Cy Young Award. Sources: Yahoo Sports, Wikipedia.