Detroit Tigers: Tarik Skubal joins elite company
Tarik Skubal‘s first full season in the majors has not gone according to plan. He had been battered over his first eight outings, and had even been banished to the bullpen for a brief time. However, he was one of the Detroit Tigers‘ wave of pitching prospects, a group that the franchise was counting on to pull them from their rebuilding process.
Skubal has begun to shrug off that slow start and has begun to look like the pitcher the Tigers were hoping for. On Saturday, he put himself amongst some truly elite company by striking out eight or more batters for the fourth consecutive game as a rookie.
Detroit Tigers hope Tarik Skubal can replicate success of pitchers on impressive list
It is certainly an impressive list. When healthy, Stephen Strasburg and Noah Syndergaard are amongst the best pitchers in the game. Yu Darvish has bounced back from a couple of rough years to become an ace once again. Jose Fernandez had been on his way to stardom before his life was tragically cut short.
Skubal has certainly righted the ship over his past four outings. In his 21 innings in that time, he has allowed just five runs on 17 hits and nine walks, striking out 34 batters. The Tigers are 3-1 in those starts, as Skubal’s performance has been a key part of their recent success.
While he has been a consensus top 100 prospect over the past two seasons, Skubal has been somewhat overshadowed in the Tigers’ organization. With Casey Mize and Matt Manning amongst that crop of intriguing arms that are also coming through the organization, Skubal did not have the same recognition he deserved.
But that is changing now. He has begun to figure things out at the major league level, to the point where he has joined an impressive list of pitchers over his past four starts. While it is just four outings, it may be a sign that Skubal is ready to be the pitcher the Tigers had hoped for.
Tarik Skubal has pitched well over his past four outings and has joined an impressive list. The Detroit Tigers hope it is a sign of things to come.