Did Massive Hint Just Drop That Tarik Skubal is MLB The Show Cover Athlete?

Is the Detroit Tigers ace gracing the cover of MLB The Show 26?

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) high-fives teammate in the dugout after pitching sixth inning against Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers have taken center stage as one of the main contenders in the American League over the last couple of years, and it's all been led by the face of their franchise.

In the last two years, baseball has been enamored with the best pitcher on the planet, and he just so happens to be the ace for Detroit. This past year, superstar lefty Tarik Skubal became the first pitcher to win American League Cy Young in back-to-back years in more than two decades.

Now that he is widely acknowledged by most as the best in the game today, he may be taking a major step for his personal brand. As pointed out by a user on X, the website for the popular video game MLB The Show has updated their site to reflect a background of blue and orange as they prepare to release the cover athlete.

Tigers Ace Tarik Skubal Could Be Next Cover Athlete for MLB The Show

MLB The Show updated their site...

Blue and Orange coloring 👀 pic.twitter.com/RF1N5LhpSW

— Scann (@TheScann) January 6, 2026

Now, it should of course be noted here that blue and orange could also be an indicator of a New York Mets cover athlete, with both Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto seeming like realistic possibilities as well.

However it certainly does seem to be a bit more navy and darker Detroit orange than Mets orange, and frankly, Skubal is the most deserving potential cover athlete in the game right now.

Doing some absolutely historic things on the mound right now, somehow improving on a dominant 2024 campaign with an even better 2025. Pitching to a 2.21 ERA and 0.891 WHIP, Skubal led the American League in both categories as well as posting an absurd 7.30 strikeout to walk ratio.

With 241 strikeouts compared to just 33 walks in 195.1 innings, he is among the best workhorses of the last several decades and continues to be the talk of the town this offseason. Could that talk complicate things in the cover athlete race though?

Could Skubal Be Prevented from Cover Because of Trade Rumors?

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Realistically as things keep playing out this offseason regarding a possible trade of their superstar and talks refuse to quit, this makes it difficult for it to be announced Skubal will be donning the cover in a Tigers uniform.

Ultimately, it seems more likely than not that Skubal will be in Detroit, but things could still change there likely up to spring training, so perhaps the makers of the game will wait as long as possible before making the announcement,

Skubal would become the first Tigers player to appear on a video game cover since Miguel Cabrera graced the front of MLB The Show 14 two years after Justin Verlander was on the front of MLB2K12.

The honor would be tremendous for fans in Detroit, but more importantly than that, it would also be deserving following the two seasons that Skubal has posted. It seems this has become a major story worth monitoring over the coming weeks in the Motor City.