Caputo: Tarik Skubal one of Tigers' best ever
It's kind of funny when you hear, "The Tigers really don't have a star.''
And it's true they don't have a Shohei Ohtani nor an Aaron Judge nor a Bobby Witt Jr. But they do have a Tarik Skubal, and that's proven to be plenty good enough.
Skubal's 2024 season is one of the greatest ever by a Tigers' pitcher. It's not a question whether he wins the Cy Young Award, but whether it's unanimous.
A bit lost in the sheer drama of Kerry Carpenter's epic game-deciding home run Monday is that Skubal threw seven shutout innings as the Tigers evened the series with Cleveland.
In his first two postseason games, Skubal has yet to allow a run in 13 innings. He also threw seven scoreless innings with a playoff berth on the line in his last regular season start. In those 20 innings, Skubal allowed nine hits and two walks while striking out 21. It's the definition of brilliance.
Where Skubal's performance ranks among other great seasons by Tigers' pitchers is difficult to quantify. The game has changed SO dramatically. Seven innings is the new standard for a starter. Skubal only threw 192 innings this regular season. Conversely, Justin Verlander pitched 251 as recently as 2011 when he was the MVP and Cy Young winner.
Skubal has yet to throw a complete game. Denny McLain had 28 complete games in 1968 when he was 31-6. There were only 28 complete games in MLB this season.
Max Scherzer was the most recent Tigers' Cy Young winner in 2013. His season was similar to Skubal's across the board. He pitched 214 innings. His WHIP was below 1.00 and ERA lower than three. The Tigers were 25-7 in Scherzer's starts compared to 21-10 for Skubal in '24.
The big difference is the Tigers had four other starting pitchers that season, Verlander, Doug Fister, Anibal Sanchez and Rick Porcello, who won 13 or more games. Other than Skubal, no other Tigers' pitcher had more than seven wins.
While it's true more than ever that a starting pitcher is only as good as his bullpen (just ask Philly ace Zack Wheeler after his brilliant seven innings were wiped out by a bullpen collapse this weekend), and the Tigers' relievers have been extraordinary, Skubal's value can't be overstated.
With just one starting pitcher literally holding up the rotation, Skubal either gets it done or the Tigers are done.
That Skubal has been so unyielding has been by far the most important element of this improbable Tigers' season.
If it's not the greatest season ever by a Tigers' pitcher, it's definitely the most unique.
And in every good way imaginable.
