You
are purchasing a 2025 Topps Flagship auto card #TFAP-TS of two consecutive time
winner of Tarik Skubal serial numbered 19/25. Skubal is pictured in high resolution
photography. The card has beautiful bronze foiling around the card and has his on
card auto signed in a crisp
blue sharpie
that is certified by Topps. There is
also a two color game used patch with elegant stitching. He is a
two-time American League Cy Young Award winner (2024 and 2025). In
2024, Skubal was named an All-Star and became the first American
League pitcher since 2011 to capture both the pitching Triple Crown and the Cy Young Award in
a full season. He was again named an All-Star in 2025. This card is an absolute must have for any Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers or any current MLB
All- Star collector/fan/investor!
Tarik Daniel Skubal (born November 20, 1996) is an American
professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit
Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected by the
Tigers in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB draft and made his MLB
debut in 2020. He is a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner
(2024 and 2025). In 2024, Skubal was named an All-Star and became the
first American League pitcher since 2011 to capture both the pitching Triple
Crown and the Cy Young Award in a full season. He was again named an
All-Star in 2025.
Skubal was born
in Hayward, California. His father is an elementary school teacher
and retired coach. He has three brothers and one step-brother.
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. He moved to Kingman, Arizona, and
attended 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. 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.
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.
On March 14, 2023, the Tigers moved Skubal to the 60-day
injured list, stating that he wasn't expected back on the mound until
summer. He was activated for his season debut on July 4. He was named
American League Pitcher of the Month in September, finishing his
final five starts with a 4–0 record and 0.90 ERA. In 2023, he
pitched 80+1⁄3 innings over 15
starts, posting a 7–3 record with a 2.80 ERA and 102 strikeouts. He ranked
in the top 4 percent of MLB pitchers in 2023 at earning strikeouts and limiting
walks, and his expected ERA was in the top 1 percent of pitchers, according to
Baseball Savant.
Skubal started for the Tigers
on Opening Day of the 2024 season, throwing six shutout innings to
lead the Tigers to a 1–0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. On April 28,
Skubal became the first pitcher in Tigers franchise history to strike out 40+
batters through his first six starts with fewer than nine walks (he had 41
strikeouts and only six walks to date). In a May 5 game against
the New York Yankees, Skubal became the first Tigers pitcher in over 100
years to strike out 12 or more batters without issuing a walk. The last Tiger
pitcher to do so was Eric Erickson (in a 16-inning complete game) on
May 24, 1918.
On July 7, Skubal was
selected to represent the Tigers in the 2024 All-Star Game being held
July 16, along with teammate Riley Greene. At the time of his selection,
Skubal had a 10–3 record, 2.37 ERA, a league-best 0.90 WHIP and 132 strikeouts
in 110 innings. He pitched a 1-2-3 second inning in the All-Star Game.
He and fellow Cy Young
awardee Chris Sale were the first pitchers to earn the Triple Crown
in a full season since 2011, when both Justin Verlander (AL)
and Clayton Kershaw (NL) earned the distinction. Additionally, Skubal
led the American League with a 170 ERA+ and 2.50 fielding-independent pitching
(FIP) rating, while leading all major league pitchers with a 6.3 Wins Against
Replacement (WAR).
On October 1, Skubal earned
the first postseason win of his career after throwing six scoreless innings
with six strikeouts against the Houston Astros in Game 1 of
the AL Wild Card Series. He threw seven shutout innings against
the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the AL Division Series, and
took the loss in Game 5 after giving up a grand slam in the fifth
inning, ultimately losing the series. Across three games and 19.0 innings of
the 2024 postseason, Skubal recorded a 1–1 record with a 2.37 ERA and 20
strikeouts.
After the season, Skubal won
the AL Cy Young Award for the first time in his career. On the
strength of his Triple Crown campaign, he won the Cy Young Award unanimously,
earning all 30 first-place votes.
On January 9, 2025, the
Tigers and Skubal agreed to a one-year, $10.15 million contract, avoiding
arbitration. Skubal started for the Tigers on Opening Day of the
season, taking a 5–4 loss against the defending World
Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. On May 25, Skubal pitched
a Maddux, throwing only 94 pitches in a complete-game shutout versus the
Guardians, with a career-high-tying 13 strikeouts, no walks, and two hits
allowed. The 5–0 victory was both the first complete game and the first shutout
of his career.
On June 24, Skubal earned the
50th win of his career after allowing six hits, on walk, and four runs, while
striking out eight batters in 6 innings to beat
the Athletics 11–4. In his next start on June 29, Detroit
defeated the Minnesota Twins, 3–0, behind Skubal's seven innings with 13
strikeouts and one hit allowed; each Twins starter struck out at least once. He
was the first pitcher in Tigers history with at least 13 strikeouts and one hit
or fewer in a game.
On July 6, Skubal was named
to the All-Star Game roster, his second consecutive All-Star
selection. On July 12,
American League (AL) manager Aaron Boone named Skubal the starting
pitcher for the AL in the game. He gave up hits to the first three batters
in the game, allowing two runs in one inning as the AL lost.
With ten strikeouts on August
19 against the Houston Astros, Skubal became the first MLB pitcher to
reach 200 strikeouts in 2025, the second season in a row he has done that.
For the 2025 season, Skubal
went 13–6 with 241 strikeouts and an AL-leading 2.21 ERA. He also led the
league's pitchers in WAR (6.6, according to Baseball Reference), ERA+
(187), and FIP (2.45), while leading the majors in WHIP (0.891), walks per
9 innings (1.5), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.30).
In Game 1 of the AL Wild
Card Series against the Guardians, Skubal tied a Tigers playoff record,
set by Joe Coleman in 1973, with 14 strikeouts. The Tigers won
2–1. In Game 5 of the AL Division Series against the Mariners,
Skubal broke a winner-take-all postseason record with 13 strikeouts. Earlier in
the game, Skubal set a record for most strikeouts in a row in a postseason game
with seven. Across three games and 20.2 innings of the 2025
postseason, Skubal recorded a 1–0 record with a 1.74 ERA and 36 strikeouts.
His 2025 efforts resulted in
him winning his second consecutive AL Cy Young award. He was the first pitcher
to win consecutive awards since Jacob deGrom won the NL Cy
Young in 2018 and 2019. He was the first in the American League
since Pedro Martinez won the award in 1999 and 2000. He also
became the 12th pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards.
Skubal throws both four-seam
and sinking two-seam fastballs, each averaging around 96 miles per hour,
with his four-seam fastball having reached as fast as 102.7 mph. His off-speed
pitches include a slider that averages 88 mph, with an occasional
"turbo slider" reaching as high as 96 mph. Since 2023, his best and
most used off-speed pitch is a changeup that averages 86 mph with an
elite seam-shifted wake, generating the lowest contact rate (55.3%) and highest
chase rate (41.2%) of all his pitches. MLB.com calls 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 (.156 batting average
against) in the majors, and had the second highest whiff rate (47.0%). He
also occasionally throws a knuckle curve that averages 77 mph.
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