Detroit Tigers: The door is not closing for Tarik Skubal, give him time
By Tyler Kotila
Detroit Tigers prospect pitcher Tarik Skubal has struggled throughout the 2021 season and has not been able to get the job done as many would have hoped. If you frequent Tigers twitter, some people have already deemed Tarik Skubal a “bust” in their eyes.
Granted, some people thought Akil Baddoo was the next MVP player. The outrageously hot takes are always going to be there. But in the case of Skubal being a bust for the Detroit Tigers, that is a freezing cold take.
Now, I may have to eat my words in two years if Skubal forgets how to throw baseballs and falls off completely. But, some early career struggles for the southpaw should be expected. With no minor leagues in 2020, the Tigers opted to throw him and Casey Mize into the fire that is Major League Baseball.
The Tigers selected Skubal in the ninth round of the draft, and he ultimately turned heads across his minor league career. But with Skubal’s struggles in 2021, some want to throw in the towel already. Come on now; the 24-year old has 75 innings under his belt in his career.
Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Tarik Skubal will be fine in due time.
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His 2021 numbers are not pretty. His 2020 numbers are not much better.
The longball has been an issue for Skubal, but lately, it seems like he has made some progress with making quality pitches.
The evidence for that is with the strikeouts. Skubal has 49 punchouts over 43 innings pitched.
Overall, Skubal’s 43 innings of work have treated him to a league-worst 1-7 record, a 5.23 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and he has allowed a league-leading 13 home runs. In 2020 he was not much better, but in due time, Skubal will figure things out.
Those who think the door is closing for Skubal are just wrong. The stuff is there; the southpaw has a quality arsenal but needs things to click at the big-league level. Skubal will iron things out and be just fine.
His welcome to the big leagues has not been the warmest, but Skubal appears to have the stuff to pitch at the big leagues. The question is, which adjustments need to be made for him to find the same success he had across the minor leagues.
When Mize and Skubal were called up in 2020, they were brought up from the alternate training site. In 2021, the two both made the Tigers roster meaning that neither has pitched at the Double-A level.
That being said, the jump from Double-A to the big leagues has been different for each of them. Casey Mize is settling in nicely, and Skubal is struggling. The expectation should be that Skubal will figure it out in due time.
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The door is not closing on Tarik Skubal; he will be just fine in due time.