Tarik Skubal confirmed his greatness in 2025, while Paul Skenes affirmed his is just beginning.
Skubal, the left-handed ace for the Detroit Tigers, won his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, while Skenes, the second-year right-hander for the Pittsburgh Pirates, followed up his Rookie of the Year season by winning his first National League Cy Young Award in a unanimous vote.
Skubal becomes the first pitcher to win back-to-back since Jacob deGrom in 2018-19 and the first AL pitcher to do so since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000. Skenes becomes just the fifth pitcher to win a Cy Young Award in his first or second season, joining Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Bret Saberhagen (1984), Dwight Gooden (1985) and Tim Lincecum (2008).
Skubal outpointed Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet and Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown in voting conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America, while Skenes finished ahead of Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez and Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
It is just the second time — after Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens in 2001 — that both starting pitchers from the All-Star Game went on to win the Cy Young Award.
Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who was 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts in 195⅓ innings, became the first back-to-back Cy Young Award winner since Jacob deGrom (2018-19) and the first in the AL since Pedro Martinez (1999-00). Ben Jackson/Getty Images
Skubal finished 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts in 195⅓ innings, leading the AL in both Baseball-Reference WAR (6.5) and FanGraphs WAR (6.6) while also leading qualified pitchers in ERA, strikeout rate (32.2%), lowest walk rate (4.4%), OBP allowed (.240) and OPS allowed (.559).
Using a blistering fastball that averaged nearly 98 mph and one of the best changeups in the game that limited batters to a .154 average and registered 110 of his strikeouts, Skubal did not give up a run in 12 of his 31 starts, the most scoreless starts of at least six innings in Tigers history and the most in the majors since Adam Wainwright in 2014.
Skubal credited the organization for the development of his lethal changeup and the pitch design that improved after he initially got hurt.
“I think a lot of it came after I got hurt and rehabbed in ’23,” Skubal told MLB Network after winning the award. “I was able to work on things for extended periods of time on rehab assignment that maybe not necessarily you would have been able to do in a spring training setting, so there’s kind of a little bit of a blessing in disguise in getting hurt in that aspect.”
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Skubal recorded double-digit strikeouts in 10 outings and pitched the most dominant game in the majors in 2025 when he pitched a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts against the Cleveland Guardians on May 25, requiring only 94 pitches. His game score of 96 was the best in the AL in 2025 and matched Sonny Gray for highest in the majors.
A ninth-round pick out of Seattle University in 2018, Skubal had Tommy John surgery in college and some injuries early in his MLB career after reaching the majors in 2020, but with good health and improved fastball command, put everything together the past two seasons, going 31-10 with a 2.30 ERA while leading the AL both seasons in ERA.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from,” Skubal said. “I had one offer out of high school [in Arizona], and it’s not a Power 5 school by any means but look at me now. So, I think that’s the beauty of the game of baseball. It doesn’t matter if you’re good at 12 or good at 24 or 25. There’s a ton of stuff to happen and just take your career day by day.”
His 2025 season ended in disappointment when for the second straight year he started Game 5 of the American League Division Series, only to see the Tigers lose both games. This postseason, against Seattle, he gave up one run in six innings with 13 strikeouts and left with a 2-1 lead, but the Mariners eventually won 3-2 in 15 innings.
Skubal has one season left until he reaches free agency. If the Tigers can’t sign him to an extension — his agent is Scott Boras, and Boras clients rarely sign extensions this close to free agency — the Tigers might entertain trade possibilities this offseason.
On Wednesday, Tigers GM Jeff Greenberg reiterated the team isn’t commenting on their plans.
“We know what he’s meant to this organization, especially over the last couple of years,” Greenberg said from the GM Meetings in Las Vegas. “We’re not going to talk about our players in the context of trade or extension. That’s in fairness to him and the Tigers. He’s a Tiger. We’re happy to have him.”
Boras said earlier Wednesday that “we’ll continue to discuss” a possible extension for Skubal during the offseason.
Skubal is one of five Detroit pitchers to win the Cy Young Award, joining Denny McLain (1968 and 1969), reliever Willie Hernandez (1984), Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013).
Pirates ace Paul Skenes finished 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 187.2 innings, allowing just 11 home runs and limiting batters to a .199 average. He led NL pitchers in ERA, WHIP (0.948) and FanGraphs WAR (6.5). AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough
Skenes finished 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 187.2 innings for the Pirates, allowing just 11 home runs and limiting batters to a .199 average. He led NL pitchers in ERA, WHIP (0.948) and FanGraphs WAR (6.5), while ranking tied for second in strikeouts and second in lowest OPS allowed.
He becomes the third Pirates pitcher to win the award, joining Vern Law (1960) and Doug Drabek (1990).
The Phillies’ Sanchez had a strong case, finishing 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA and edging Skenes in Baseball-Reference WAR (8.0 to 7.7) while pitching 15 more innings, but Skenes’ lower ERA was the deciding factor. At 23, Skenes is the youngest qualified pitcher to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA since Gooden and the third-youngest to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA and 200 strikeouts, behind only Gooden and Vida Blue in 1971.
While Skenes averaged 98.2 mph with his fastball, his already legendary workout routines and deep arsenal of pitches have contributed to his success. He throws seven different pitches, with his sweeper (.150 average allowed) and his changeup (.103) nearly impossible to hit, but it’s still the overpowering four-seam fastball that registered 104 of his strikeouts.
“It truly is a team effort with the coaches that we had and the players,” Skenes told MLB Network. “It’s pitchers making each other better, our catcher-pitching relationship, coaches, the organization putting you in good spots to succeed. I couldn’t have done it by myself and I’m super grateful that I’ve had the infrastructure around me to succeed.”
Skenes’ win-loss record stands out, as he matches deGrom (10-9 in 2018) for the fewest wins by a Cy Young starter (excluding the shortened 2020 season), but he was plagued with poor run support: The Pirates scored no runs in five of his 32 starts and one run in another five. Skenes allowed no runs in 12 starts but went just 7-0 in those games. He allowed one run in six starts but went just 1-2 in those outings.
Like Skubal, Skenes was lightly recruited out of high school.
“I got recruited to college as a catcher,” Skenes told MLB Network. “Kept growing and started pitching and got better on the mound. Never thought I would end up here. Never thought that I would be in the major leagues, much less winning a Cy Young, so it doesn’t always work out how you think it’s going to.
“But if you stay the course, you surround yourself with good people, you work hard, that’s the minimum. You’re going to exactly what you’re supposed to do, whatever that looks like.”
After starting his college career as a two-way player at Air Force, he transferred to LSU for his junior season and had one of the best seasons ever for a collegiate pitcher, becoming the first overall pick in the 2023 draft. After just 34 innings in the minors, he debuted in May of 2024 and pitched so well in 11 starts (6-0, 1.90 ERA) that he started the All-Star Game. He started again in 2025, making him the first pitcher to start in his first two seasons.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers contributed to this report.
