Detroit Tigers Ace Rightfully in Mix for Spot on All-MLB First Team This Season
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The Detroit Tigers have arrived as contenders in the American League.
Their unprecedented run in the second half of the 2024 season does not look like a fluke as they have picked up right where they left off and winning a ton of baseball games.
Since getting swept in their first series of the season against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, they have been excellent. They have gone 18-8 since that point, with their 18-11 overall record putting them not only in first place in the American League Central, but also owners of the best record in the AL.
Their offense has shown legitimate improvements, which was their biggest need coming into the offseason.
During their seven playoff games, they scored only 21 runs. That kind of inconsistent run production was not going to cut it.
But, it is a little easier to overcome not having an elite offense when your pitching staff dominates in the fashion that the Tigers do on the mound.
Detroit has an MLB-best 2.86 ERA as a team and their pitchers have already produced a 4.9 WAR.
Unsurprisingly, it is their ace, Tarik Skubal, who is setting the tone through the first month of the 2025 MLB regular season.
The reigning, unanimous AL Cy Young Award winner, who also accomplished the Triple Crown last year, has quickly righted the ship after two uncharacteristically shaky starts to begin the campaign.
He gave up seven earned runs in 10.2 innings against the Dodgers and Seattle Mariners before completely blowing away the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers for 13 innings of shutout baseball.
After battling for five innings against the Kansas City Royals, Skubal twirled another historic gem against the Baltimore Orioles with 11 strikeouts across six shutout innings.
The scariest part about Skubal’s performance to this point, at least for his opponents, is that he is throwing the ball better in 2025 than he did in 2024.
As shared by Jason Foster of MLB.com in a piece predicting the All-MLB Teams, Skubal has upped his fastball velocity and looks to be a shoo-in for the First Team.
“The lefty's fastball averages 97.3 mph and he's held hitters to an average exit velocity of just 85.2 mph,” he wrote.
Joining the Tigers ace is Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies, Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox.
Skubal certainly warrants a spot on the team with a 2.34 ERA across 34.2 innings with 40 strikeouts, allowing only two earned runs over his last 24 innings pitched.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.