The Detroit Tigers find themselves trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
One of the main reasons the Tigers currently sit only 3.5 games back of a wild-card spot is largely due to the likes of Tarik Skubal.
Skubal is the ace of this Tiger’s staff and appears to be a front-runner to win the American League Cy Young award.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reports Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch’s thoughts on if Skubal wins this award.
Hinch says that he thinks it will be an emotional response from Skubal if he is to win the Cy Young award, especially because his road to get where he is today was not easy.
Here's Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch discussing the emotions for Tarik Skubal if he wins the AL Cy Young Award: pic.twitter.com/6fyFusT43v
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 13, 2024
The bumpy road to stardom for Skubal included multiple rehabs due to injury and the struggles of throwing strikes early in his career.
2024, however, has treated Skubal completely differently than the early years of his career.
Skubal came into the league in 2020 with the Tigers and is having by far the best season of his career in 2024, which has bolstered the Tigers into playoff contention.
The statistics speak for themselves as Skubal holds a record of 16 wins and 4 losses with a 2.50 earned run average in 180 innings pitched with 214 strikeouts.
Previously, the most wins Skubal had in a season was 8 back in 2021, and he had 7 wins in both 2022 and 2023.
The Tigers will lean on Skubal down the stretch as they attempt to sneak into a wild card spot and appear in their first postseason since they lost the American League Division Series in 2014.
NEXT: AJ Hinch Gets Honest About Loss To Guardians In Postseason