Tarik Skubal needs to wind down after the night of a start before he can shut his eyes, but tends to sleep soundly once he does. The day after mowing down the Mariners for the second time in a week, he sat in front of his clubhouse locker and said, "I feel like I could sleep for 14 hours." The irony is that Skubal hardly ever rests. His tireless work over the past few years has turned him into one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.
"It’s all coming together for him because of a lot of work and preparation and him addressing some of the things that he struggled with as a young pitcher," A.J. Hinch said Wednesday before the Tigers continued their series against Seattle. "And then ultimately, putting it out on the field. It’s not just having a good season. He’s a really good pitcher who's learning to be his best every single start."
Skubal would tell you that it's only August. That six weeks remain in the season and that he has nine more starts to make. So we'll tell you that Skubal is approaching history. Through 24 starts, he's on pace to become the first pitcher to win the American League Triple Crown in a full season since Justin Verlander in 2011, with a legitimate chance to win the first MLB Triple Crown since Johan Santana in 2006. Santana is the only pitcher to do it this century.
How fitting that the next time Skubal takes the mound, the country will be watching. He's slated to start on Sunday Night Baseball in Williamsport in this year's Little League Classic against Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and the Yankees. It will be the Tigers' first time on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball since 2017.
"It’ll be fun for him to be on centerstage," said Hinch.
The best pitcher in baseball this season is about to stare down the two best hitters. Last time Skubal faced the Yankees, he struck out 12, including Soto twice and Judge once, but also gave up a homer and a double to Judge. He twirled around after striking out his final batter with Judge standing on second and told him with a grin, "You’re really (bleeping) good at this game."
"It’s fun going back and forth and competing against guys like that, especially the young ace of the team," Judge said after the game. "I’m looking forward to more battles with him."
'Ace' is not a term that Hinch uses lightly. He knows it when he sees one -- and when he doesn't -- after managing rotations in Houston headlined by Verlander and Gerrit Cole. To Hinch, Skubal is the essence of an ace, not just in the numbers but in the way he approaches the game. But let's indulge the numbers, for a moment, because "we should respect and honor what we’re watching," said Hinch.
Skubal leads the major leagues in ERA (2.53) and wins (14). He also leads the American League in strikeouts (180), and is one shy of the MLB leader (Dylan Cease). Skubal really doesn't care to look at his numbers, other than markers like "strike percentage and zone percentage," he said, "because that means I’m competing."
"It’s a slippery slope in terms of chasing numbers and chasing results on the field," Skubal said. "It’s more about my process of, was I locked in and did I give effort on every single pitch during the game? Did I let my brain go anywhere else, or was I actually locked in throwing every pitch where I wanted to throw it?" Skubal said. "I’m gonna put all my stock in that.
"If I execute 100 pitches in a row of what was called and I was bought in on every throw, I could go four innings and give up 12 runs -- hypothetically -- and I will take that day over me being lackadaisical and not locked in and going six scoreless. I think that’s the process part that can get lost in our game when you start chasing results and zeroes and strikeouts. I’m gonna always side on my process."
Still, Skubal's numbers are impossible to ignore. ESPN will make sure everyone sees them Sunday night. Only four pitchers have won an AL Triple Crown in a full season since 1946: Verlander, Santana, Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens. Only eight pitchers ever have won an MLB Triple Crown.
"It’d be a great honor and probably accomplishments that go along with that, if I were to do that, but it’s still early," said Skubal. "I got nine more starts, got a month and a half of baseball left. I’m not going to put too much weight into that. I want to play six weeks of winning baseball down the stretch, set up our guys to have good offseasons, including myself. When you start making this game about yourself, it becomes a really hard game. When you start making it about we and us and what we’re doing, the game becomes really fun."
Sunday night will be as fun as it gets. Judge and Soto are the MLB leaders in OPS. The latter just had his first three-homer game. The former is chasing a Triple Crown of his own, leading the bigs in homers, RBI and ranking second in average. In fact, Judge's numbers almost sneer at what he did two years ago when he broke the American League single-season home run record and won his first MVP.
"I think those guys are top two (in the game), 1 or 2, however you want to debate it," Skubal said. "It’s great talent, a great lineup, it’ll be a fun matchup, for sure. I’m looking forward to it."
"He’ll be in compete mode," said Hinch. "He will not like all the extracurricular stuff as much as everybody else will, but he will appreciate the opportunity."
Hinch has managed several playoff teams, including a World Series winner. Skubal has yet to sniff October. The two of them were talking the other day when Hinch told him that "you want the bad travel schedule" that comes with playing in primetime games "because that means you're a good team." You want to get into a new city early in the morning and show up to the stadium late in the day because everyone wanted to watch you the night prior. That's how it will feel for the Tigers when they land in Chicago in the wee hours of Monday.
"It’s Sunday Night Baseball," said Skubal. "Those are the games you want to play in."
Beyond that, Skubal just wants to pitch.
"He’s not on the edge of trying to accomplish some kind of bulk season goal," said Hinch. "He wants to lead a staff to a winning season and to the playoffs and to way bigger things than anything for himself, and that’s the definition of an ace. That's why I’m OK using that term with him because I know he’s going to continue to do the work to be as good as he’s been. The mindset and the preparation doesn’t change, and that gains my utmost respect."
Skubal will take the ball Sunday night. Soto and Judge will dig in. The baseball world will be watching, like it's the first inning of an All-Star Game. The Tigers will like their odds.
"Nobody better to have on the mound than Tarik Skubal," said Hinch.