Tarik Skubal Leads Tigers with Most Wins Above Replacement in 2025

The Detroit Tigers have some who proved more valuable than others last season.

Oct 10, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) reacts after striking out Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (not pictured) during the sixth inning during game five of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at T-Mobile Park | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers had one goal set for this season and it was to get to the World Series. At the start it seemed like they were going to pull that off. The ballclub was arguably the best in baseball before the All-Star break, but their summer demise proved to be one of historic proportions.

At the end of the year they still found a way to claw themselves into the American League Division Series for the second straight year, and for the second straight year they were sent home in a winner-take-all game five against the Seattle Mariners.

A loss like that for back-to-back seasons leaves a bitter taste in everyone's mouth, but it is important to remember that plenty of good came from this roster. Some were more valuable than others and it is important to look at each player's production in the offseason if the organization hopes to still be playing at this time of year in 2026.

Top-5 War Leaders

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It should come as no surprise that CY Young award winner Tarik Skubal leads the team in wins-above-replacement (WAR). He is the only pitcher inside the top-five on the roster as he is the only member of the Tigers' pitching staff with a WAR above 2.0. His was 6.6.

Skubal finished the year at 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA to complement his 241 strikeouts in the regular season. There is no argument surrounding the fact that the Tigers would have not made it as far as they did without him.

Players two-through-five in WAR started with their catcher, Dillon Dingler. This was Dingler's first full year as the primary catcher and he proved to be one of the best defensive weapons that the team had. The 26-year-old finished with a .278 batting average and is looking to have a breakout year at the plate when 2026 rolls around.

The fact that Dillon Dingler is able to stand let alone make this throw after 14 innings of crouching is a minor miracle pic.twitter.com/BQjej8Mbvh

— AT (@YankeeWRLD) October 11, 2025

Dingler is the only other player besides Skubal who had a WAR above 3.0. The next three — second baseman Gleyber Torres, third baseman Zach McKinstry and first baseman Spencer Torkleson — rounded out the top five of the irreplaceable players the Tigers had in 2025.

Their OPS ranged from .745 and .789 with a pair of slugging percentages over .435. The team had bigger strengths on the mound than at the plate, but Dingler, McKinstry, Torres, and Torkelson were the most efficent.

It might come as a surprise to most as Riley Greene was just nominated as a Silver Slugger, but his 201 strikeouts and a .313 on-base percentage (lower than all four) kept his WAR at 2.1 compared to Torres' 2.9.

The Tigers rode the highest of highs and the lowest of lows this season. Skubal was a highlight reel and the batters grinded day in and day out. Next season they will look to build on their weakness and enhance their strengths to try to take home the AL pennant.