Tarik Skubal is on the cusp of a Cy Young. His teammates know exactly how he got here

DETROIT Back in 2018, Will Vest watched from the bullpen as a long-limbed, ninth-round draft pick entered the game.

Tarik Skubal was a prospect few knew.

He came from a small baseball program at Seattle University and was barely two years removed from Tommy John surgery.

But the stuff? That was wicked.

Thats the first thing Vest learned when Skubal made his Class-A debut with the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Advertisement Skubal entered that July 27 day against the South Bend Cubs.

It was the sixth inning.

Two runners were on with two outs.

Skubal dispatched his first batter, Cubs outfielder Austen Wade, on six pitches.

He powered a pitch hard inside for a swinging strike three.

When the seventh inning rolled around, it was more of the same.

Skubal struck out the side, pounding the strike zone and notching five whiffs.

It was remarkable, Vest, now a Detroit Tigers reliever, recalled in October.

And I was like, Dude, this guy can pitch.

Skubal threw 3 1/3 hitless innings that day, the kind of outing you can now retrofit to suit his legend.

His ascension started quietly, until soon everyone in the Tigers system began taking note.

By 2020, Skubal was the talk of spring training .

By 2021, older pitchers could not stop raving about the raw lefty who oozed with potential.

Veterans such as Derek Holland, Matthew Boyd and Daniel Norris often brought up Skubals arsenal and his otherworldly stuff.

But there was also more: Skubals drive, his inquisitiveness and his desire to get better.

Its pretty dangerous when you breed work ethic with talent, Boyd said then.

Thats when some special stuff happens.

The story since has been well-chronicled.

Another injury, grueling rehab and more work .

By the 2024 season, Skubal emerged as perhaps the most entertaining pitcher in the game.

He showed the world what those around the Tigers already knew.

With an old-school leg kick, his patented roars after pulsating moments, and a season in which he dominated nearly every time out for 31 starts, Skubal is now on the cusp of winning the American Leagues Cy Young Award, which will be announced Wednesday night.

Skubal is considered an overwhelming favorite and has a case to win the award unanimously, a fitting result for a season in which he won a Pitching Triple Crown by leading the American League in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228).

Advertisement All season and really, for the better part of six years in Detroits system Skubal has marveled fans and teammates alike.

The award is merely a cap to an incredible show.

Man, its hard to explain, and its been fun to watch, Vest said.

You almost become a fan watching it.

Back home, Tarik Skubals mother made ice cream runs.

The tradition started one day when Laura Skubal felt anxious before one of her sons starts.

She went to a nearby Culvers in Kingman, Ariz., and ordered ice cream for herself and several coworkers in her Mohave County office.

Skubal was at his best that day, so before another start, a coworker reminded Laura: You know, Tarik did really well the last time you brought Culvers for everybody ...

A tradition began.

By September of this past season, Laura was sitting in the drive-thru ordering 26 flavor-of-the-day ice creams at 10 a.m.

Did you lose a bet? a worker in the small town asked her.

No, she said.

Tariks pitching.

Regardless of his mothers intense superstitions there was a Jobu doll from Major League duct-taped under her bed to keep bad energy away Skubal climbed to this new level of dominance through that sweet aforementioned concoction of talent and work.

This past season, he threw first-pitch strikes at an elite 68.7 percent rate.

His changeup blossomed into a bona fide weapon, getting opposing batters to whiff 46.1 percent of the time.

He threw his fastball with more conviction than ever.

He used his sinker more often to vex unfortunate left-handed hitters.

The home-run balls that once plagued him became rarities.

At a level where almost everyone has diligent work regimens, Skubals daily habits and his mental intensity still set him apart.

One day in September, Tigers right-hander Beau Brieske was talking about Skubal when he brought up MLB Networks documentary on Greg Maddux, where Maddux talked about learning the mental side of the game at the MLB level.

Brieske observed similar traits in Skubal.

Advertisement He didnt surprise himself by being this good, Brieske said.

To me, thats mental.

Because some guys limit themselves by not believing that they are capable.

He never did, and he believed it from that start.

He battled injuries, works hard, does his thing consistently every day, boom, boom, boom.

And then everything comes together and everyone sees, Wow, hes as good as he is.

There is a long list of people who helped shape Tarik Skubals journey to the top of his sport.

One of them is Wil Jones, the kid who joined the Skubal household in high school, the one Skubal now calls a role model and a brother.

https://t.co/Ma9U7T6PWu pic.twitter.com/eguBJE9vc8 Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) September 30, 2024 On start days, Skubal can be an ardent creature of habit.

Clubhouse workers make sure he has Welchs fruit snacks and Honey Stinger energy waffles placed on a white Gatorade towel in the dugout bench before every start.

He fixates on completing the USA Today crossword puzzle before he begins his warmup.

His routine is the same every single start, said rookie second baseman Colt Keith .

I noticed he drinks the same water at the same time.

Every day after a start, he does the same thing with his bike and his recovery work.

Detail-oriented as Skubal is, he also differs from some of the games most mystifying aces.

The five-day routine is a strange sort of religious cycle by which pitchers tailor their lives.

Unlike greats such as Justin Verlander or Clayton Kershaw, teammates say Skubal is not unapproachable on his start days.

Hes focused but remains human, able to joke and talk like any other day rather than exhausting himself with a singular focus before the game starts.

He trusts his work, Brieske said.

He trusts his ability and he trusts the ability to go from completely relaxed and you wouldnt know it really, and then you turn it on when its time.

Boom.

Thats something manager A.J.

Hinch noticed and appreciated, especially with Skubal being a young player on an even younger team.

He leads us by his emotion and by the way that he approaches his start days, Hinch said.

He does it his own way.

Hes very approachable in there.

Hell talk.

Hell interact.

Hes as loose as any of our guys.

Thats meaningful to a team thats playing together.

Teammates can appreciate the lighter side of Skubal.

He and catcher Jake Rogers have a friendship that dates back to playing video games at the alternate training site in 2020.

As a person, hes one of my favorite people ever, Rogers said, which I think makes it easier for me to root for him.

Once its time for the first pitch, though, no one would accuse Skubal of being calm and collected.

Hes a world-class competitor.

Rogers, who caught every one of Skubals starts this past season, often talked of Skubals F-you mentality.

That mindset was never on display more than after key pitches or momentous strikeouts when Skubal would flex and yell into the sky.

He did it in the postseason, roaring louder than ever in front of hostile Cleveland crowds.

When he gets like that, it definitely fires us all up, outfielder Matt Vierling said, and it allows us to realize how much of a competitor he is.

Skubal was an All-Star for the first time this season.

As he took in the sights and the sounds of the midsummer classic in Texas, he also did some reconnaissance work.

I think he probably spent the majority of the All-Star break trying to figure out from ( Bobby Witt Jr.

) or ( Salvador Perez ) or whoever, What do you got on me? Why are guys hitting me? Hinch said.

I like that about him, and that maturity wasnt like one moment or situation.

Advertisement As the rest of the league began to amplify Skubals prowess the likes of Alex Cora, Aaron Boone, Scott Servais and Stephen Vogt have all sung his praises Hinch observed similar behavior from Skubal even at home.

Skubal was known to seek advice from Detroit hitting coaches on attacking hitters or would ask Tigers hitters how they might approach him if they were on the other side.

Diligent as his daily routine can be, he also is not afraid to adapt.

Its not always the same work, Hinch said.

I think that impressed me the most.

He will dive into the game plan on how hes gonna pitch to the next team and tailor his work accordingly.

Basically, Skubal might alter his routine based on whether he expected the upcoming start to be heavy on fastballs or loaded with breaking balls.

At one point midseason, Skubal felt he was not recovering as well between starts, so he went to team trainers for help tweaking his program.

He knows what he needs to do to make sure you are maintaining your stuff throughout a season, throwing so many innings, Brieske said, how to take a light day when your body needs it to be able to sustain success.

These are all things teammates noticed and absorbed throughout the season.

Behind the scenes, hes got his routine down to a T, starting pitcher Reese Olson said.

He hammers that between every start, and hes locked in on that, and he doesnt waver.

So thats something Ive taken away, trying to learn for myself.

Add it all together, and Skubal has functioned as a workhorse in an age where few starting pitchers do.

Only seven pitchers threw more innings than Skubals 192 last season.

The Tigers were 21-10 in his 31 regular-season starts.

I think hes a good example of what every starting pitcher wants to be, said rookie Jackson Jobe , who joined the team for the final week of the regular season.

I mean, hes the best pitcher in baseball, hands down.

Its not even a question.

Advertisement Before the decisive Game 5 of the American League Division Series, practically every player on the team talked of how Skubal was built for the moment , of how theyd want no one else out on the mound.

Even after a crushing loss to the Cleveland Guardians ended their season, Rogers stood in the clubhouse and said, He could have given up 100 (runs) today and Ill still take him over anybody.

All season, Skubal minimized the talk of awards and achievements.

When he was named the Opening Day starter, he talked of wanting to start Game 1 of a playoff series.

As his Triple Crown chances came into focus, he spoke of team wins meaning more to him than anything else.

A deeply intense athlete, it would be foolish to act as if the Cy Young Award means nothing to Skubal.

But the hard-earned respect of those around him might carry just as much weight.

If you ask any player, I think you want the respect of your peers, the guys you go to work with every single day, Skubal said.

You want the respect and trust of your peers.

I wouldnt brush that off.

I think that means a lot.

I think that means a lot for me to earn that from them.

Id say the same thing for those guys.

If you ask me about any guy, I think the preparation that goes into it, all the stuff that happens when there are no cameras, no media, Id say the same thing about those guys.

(Top photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images).

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