Tarik Skubal

Early life

Skubal was born in Hayward, California. His father is an elementary school teacher and retired coach. He has three brothers and one stepbrother. He is of paternal Czech descent. His name Tarik means "strike" in Arabic.

Skubal grew up a fan of the Oakland Athletics. He played two years of Little League Baseball, representing Cordelia, California, and the wider Tri-Valley area. After his family moved to Kingman, Arizona he attended the Kingman Academy of Learning.

Skubal enrolled at Seattle University to play college baseball for the Seattle Redhawks; it was the only NCAA Division I school to offer him a scholarship. In 2015, Skubal was recognized as a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. Following this season, Skubal missed most of the 2016 season and all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Despite the injury, he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 29th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. He did not sign, opting instead to return to Seattle. Skubal had a combined 21–7 record as a starter for the Redhawks. In 2018, he led the team with 106 strikeouts and 56 walks, pitching 80 innings in his final season in Seattle.

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers selected Skubal in the ninth round with the 255th overall selection of the 2018 MLB draft. He received a $350,000 bonus for signing a contract. After the draft, Skubal spent his first professional season with the Gulf Coast Tigers, Connecticut Tigers, and West Michigan Whitecaps, pitching to a combined 3–0 record and 0.40 earned run average (ERA) in 22+1⁄3 innings pitched. He started 2019 with the Lakeland Flying Tigers. He earned a call-up to the Erie SeaWolves on July 5. Over his first three starts with Erie, he had a 0.56 ERA with 34 strikeouts, giving up five hits in 16 innings. His performances over the season raised his ranking in MLB.com's 2019 Prospect Watch from a preseason #20 ranking in the Tigers' organization to a #4 spot at the midseason update on July 27. He finished the season at Double-A Erie with a 2–3 record, 2.13 ERA, 1.02 WHIP. Opponents hit just .168 off him. Overall in 2019, in High-A and Double-A, Skubal struck out 179 batters in 122+2⁄3 innings.

The Tigers invited Skubal to spring training in 2020. On August 18, Skubal was recalled from the Tigers' satellite training facility in Toledo, and he made his MLB debut later that day. On August 29, Skubal earned his first major league win, besting the Minnesota Twins. In five innings pitched, Skubal allowed two earned runs and three hits while striking out two and walking none in the Tigers' 4–2 win. With the 2020 Detroit Tigers, Skubal appeared in 8 games, compiling a 1–4 record with 5.63 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched. His cutter, which averaged 95.4 mph (153.5 km/h), was the fastest cutter of any major league pitcher in 2020.

On March 24, 2021, new Tigers manager A. J. Hinch announced that Skubal had made the Opening Day roster out of spring training and would be in the Tigers' starting rotation. On July 3, Skubal recorded his 100th strikeout of the season, becoming the first Tiger rookie ever to strike out at least 100 batters before the All-Star break. On August 25, against the St. Louis Cardinals, Skubal recorded strikeouts for the first six outs of the game, finishing with ten strikeouts in five innings of work. On September 25, Skubal reached 200 career strikeouts in his first 38 appearances, the fewest number of games in Tigers history that a pitcher needed to reach that milestone. Overall in 2021, Skubal pitched in 31 games, starting all but two of them, posting an 8–12 record and 4.34 ERA while striking out 164 batters in 149+1⁄3 innings.

Skubal continued to pitch in the Tigers starting rotation in 2022. After posting a 7–8 record with a 3.52 ERA, 111 ERA+, 1.16 WHIP and 117 strikeouts in 117+2⁄3 innings, he was placed on the injured list on August 3 with fatigue in his pitching arm. On August 17, the Tigers announced Skubal had undergone flexor tendon surgery, definitively ending his 2022 season and likely sidelining him for the beginning of 2023.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On August 2, 2026, the Tigers traded Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Zyhir Hope, River Ryan, and Brady Smith.

International career

Skubal was included on the United States national baseball team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but only played once before rejoining the Tigers for spring training since he wanted to focus on the upcoming season. His lone appearance came in the pool stage against Great Britain, allowing a home run on the opening pitch before striking out five batters on 41 pitches; the United States won 9–1. He returned to the team to support them in the championship game.

Pitching style

Skubal throws both four-seam and sinking two-seam fastballs, each averaging around 96 miles per hour (154 km/h), with his four-seam fastball having reached as fast as 102.7 mph (165.3 km/h). His off-speed pitches include a slider that averages 88 mph (142 km/h), with an occasional "turbo slider" reaching as high as 95 mph (153 km/h). Since 2023, his best and most used off-speed pitch is a changeup that averages 86 mph (138 km/h) with an elite seam-shifted wake, generating the lowest contact rate (55.3%) and highest chase rate (41.2%) of all his pitches. Compared to most changeups, which almost always break straight downward, Skubal throws the pitch in a way that causes the seams of the baseball to catch the air in just the right way to make the ball move unpredictably. MLB.com called Skubal's changeup "the most valuable pitch in baseball," due to its league-leading +25 run value. In 2025, it was the hardest changeup to hit in the major leagues (.156 batting average against), and had the second highest whiff rate (47.0%). He also occasionally throws a knuckle curve that averages 77 mph (124 km/h).