There was no doubt that based on the season that Tarik Skubal had, he was going not to be denied a second straight Cy Young award win. 

MLB (@MLB) on X Tarik Skubal has done it again! He is your 2025 American League Cy Young Award winner!

Skubal becomes the first pitcher in the American League since Pedro Martinez did in 1999 and the second Tigers pitcher to do it since Denny McLain did in 1968 and 1969.

Chris Castellani (@Castellani2014) on X Tarik Skubal Has Done It Again

For the second year in a row, Tarik Skubal didn’t just pitch like an ace, he pitched like the ace in the American League. His 2025 season builds directly off his breakout 2024 Cy Young campaign, but what separates this year from last is how he tightened nearly every area of his game despite having a target on his back and operating as the unquestioned No. 1 in Detroit’s rotation.

The 2024 line was already elite: a 2.80 ERA, 18 wins, and 234 strikeouts across 199.2 innings. But 2025 shows a pitcher fully in command of the league. His ERA dropped again, this time to 2.21 — the best mark of his career, while holding opponents to just 48 earned runs across nearly 200 innings. His WHIP fell to a career-low 0.891, a number that only the most dominant seasons in modern baseball touch.

What stands out most is the way he combined elite strikeout ability (241 K) with pinpoint control: his 7.3 SO/BB ratio almost doubled his already excellent, 2024 rate.  He increased his K rate from 30.3% in 2024 to 32.2% in 2025. That, in this age, to continue to improve from the year before to dominate again, puts him among one of the best left-handers in the American League over the last 25 years. 

When speaking to the media on the BBWAA call, he spoke a lot about his mentally on the season, where he was.

“I would gladly trade a Cy Young award for a World Series win” Skubal said. 

The home run suppression also took a leap. After allowing 15 in 2024, he trimmed that to just 13 in 2025, even as he faced more batters and worked deeper into games. His ERA+ jumped from an exceptional 174 to a staggering 187, meaning he performed 87 percent better than league average, dominance on a level few pitchers sustain for a single year, let alone across back-to-back seasons.

What makes this run especially significant is the context of Detroit’s climb back into relevance. In 2024, his season felt like a star breaking out. In 2025, it felt like a superstar settling in. Skubal didn’t catch the league off guard, he overpowered it, adjusted to every adjustment, and pitched like someone who completely understands how to weaponize his arsenal. Winning one Cy Young often reflects a career year; winning two straight reflects a standard.

In Tigers history, the list of pitchers who’ve had this type of multi-year dominance is short: Hal Newhouser, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer. Skubal’s back-to-back Cy Young Awards place him firmly in that tier, and the advanced numbers suggest he’s not merely repeating success, he’s still trending upward. 

The good news is, he said he was looking forward to seeing everyone in Lakeland in the spring. And after the strange video today from Scott Boras, and the nonstop trade rumors to New York, etc, Tigers fans can enjoy seeing one of their own dominate the headlines representing Detroit. 

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