Performance of Key Player Has Been Biggest Success for Detroit Tigers This Season

Who has been the biggest success for the Detroit Tigers this season?

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch (14) walks off the field after a pitching change during the fifth nning against Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, September 5, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the Detroit Tigers prepare for the final couple of weeks of the season, there have been a lot of positives for the franchise. This was a team that came into the year with higher expectations than in recent campaigns and has lived up to them. 

In 2024, the Tigers shocked the league when they were able to go on a ridiculous run in the second half of the season to make the playoffs. They continued their amazing run with an ALWC win against the Houston Astros and then were just one win away from making it to the ALCS. Due to their success from the year prior, the team was expected to be better in 2025. They have been able to achieve that with the squad leading comfortably in the AL Central. 

While there have been a lot of reasons for the improvements for the franchise, it all comes back to one player who has emerged as one of the best in the league. Bradford Doolittle of ESPN recently wrote about the biggest success for the Tigers this season being the performance of their ace, Tarik Skubal. 

Skubal Has Certainly Been the Biggest Success

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The southpaw for Detroit really burst on the scene for the team in 2024. He was able to win the AL Cy Young award and the Triple Crown for pitching as well. While there was clearly some talent there, he was able to stay healthy and had everything come together last year. 

So far in the 2025 campaign, he has been just as good and possibly even better. This season, he has totaled a 13-5 record, 2.26 ERA, and 224 strikeouts. While he recently had a little bit of an injury scare, he seems ready to lead this team into the postseason. 

Due to the fantastic year once again, Skubal is likely going to be the AL Cy Young Award winner for the second straight campaign. This would be a fantastic achievement, and one that hasn’t been done in the AL since Pedro Martinez. 

While the individual accolades for Skubal are great, what will really define him is his performance in the playoffs. With a lot of uncertainty in the rest of their rotation, the Tigers are going to need their ace to be on his game every potential start he makes in the playoffs. Even though there have been some good producers for the team in 2025, Skubal is, without a doubt, the biggest success the team has had.