Detroit Tigers announce Tarik Skubal to start Opening Day against Chicago White Sox
LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch made the announcement in front of the entire team in the clubhouse during a meeting before Friday's spring training game:
Tarik Skubal is the Tigers' Opening Day starter.
His teammates erupted in cheers.
"I did it today because we play real games in March," Hinch said Friday. "We don't expect perfection from the onset of spring, and we haven't had it, but we do need to see progress. We've seen that with a lot of guys, but I did want to remind them that we play games in March, so no better time than today in front of his teammates."
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Skubal, a left-hander from the ninth round in the 2018 draft, will start March 28 against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, the first of 162 games.
Hinch hasn't revealed any of his other starting pitchers.
MORE ABOUT HIM: How Tigers' Tarik Skubal overcame major elbow surgery, became elite starting pitcher
Right-hander Dylan Cease, who finished second in American League Cy Young voting in 2022, has already been named the Opening Day starter for the White Sox.
"He's earned this," Hinch said. "One, he's really talented. Two, his preparation is incredible. I've seen it grow from good to great. His intensity, his presence, how he interacts with his teammates. It's a great honor, and it's an honor for me to be able to tell him."
Skubal, 27, posted a 2.80 ERA with 14 walks and 102 strikeouts across 80⅓ innings in 15 starts last season, following his early July recovery from left flexor tendon surgery.
When healthy, Skubal graded as the best pitcher in baseball last season: He was worth 3.3 fWAR from his July 4 return through Oct. 1, ranking No. 1 among pitchers.
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"It'll be his first of hopefully many," Hinch said. "You can't take them for granted, but I think everything about his last 12 months leading up to today has earned him the opportunity to be the first one out of the gate."
He won AL Pitcher of the Month for his five-start performance in September, including 11 consecutive scoreless innings to finish the season.
In September, Skubal logged a 0.90 ERA with four walks and 43 strikeouts across 30 innings.
His ERA ranked second in baseball in September, only behind San Diego Padres left-hander Blake Snell's 0.58 ERA across 31 innings, but his 39.4% strikeout rate topped the leaderboards in September, ahead of Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow's 35.6% strikeout rate.
Before Skubal in 2024, the five most recent Opening Day starters for the Tigers were David Price (2015), Justin Verlander (2009-14, 2016-17), Jordan Zimmermann (2018-19), Matthew Boyd (2020-21) and Eduardo Rodriguez (2022-23).
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal named Detroit Tigers' Opening Day starter vs. White Sox
