There have been few pitchers who can compare to what Detroit Tigers starter Tarik Skubal has done over the last two years. In 2024, he was an All-Star and won the AL Cy Young award dominantly.
This season, he’s dominating once again. He earned a spot on the AL All-Star team, and ahead of the announcement that he was going to be the starter, Skubal spoke with New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried.
In a post from Evan Woodbery of MLive.com on Twitter/X, Skubal revealed the conversation he had with the Yankees ace ahead of the All-Star game. Skubal said, “He (Fried) asked me if I wanted to start (the All-Star Game).”
Tarik Skubal said he recently got a call from Yankees starter Max Fried.
“He asked me if I wanted to start (the ASG).”
Skubal deferred to Fried, especially since Fried had pitched for eight seasons in Atlanta. But Fried was insistent: “I think you deserve it. I was just…
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) July 13, 2025
Woodbery wrote, “Skubal deferred to Fried, especially since Fried had pitched for eight seasons in Atlanta. But, Fried was insistent: ‘I think you deserve it. I was just wondering if you wanted to start it.”
With Skubal acknowledging he wanted to start the All-Star game for the American League, Yankees manager Aaron Boone, thanks in part to Fried reaching out, reached out to Skubal to let him know he’d be the AL team’s starter.
“It was actually a really cool conversation,” Skubal said, “It’s a very professional thing to do, and I ‘ve got a ton of respect for guys that do stuff like that.”
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Skubal more than deserves the start for the AL team in the All-Star game. He’s likely the Cy Young favorite in the AL, and his statistics this season back up such a notion.
Through 19 starts, Skubal has a 2.23 ERA, a 10-3 record, 153 strikeouts, a 0.83 WHIP, and 16 walks in 121 innings pitched this season. He’s third in strikeouts, behind Zack Wheeler and Garrett Crochet, two pitchers also in the Cy Young race.
His ERA is fourth best, behind Crochet, Paul Skenes, and Hunter Brown. His impressive sub-0.90 WHIP is the best in baseball, with Wheeler the only other pitcher below the 0.90 mark.
The story shared by Woodbery of Skubal and Fried’s interaction surrounding the chance to start in the All-Star game is a very cool one. It shows the immense respect Fried and Boone have for Skubal, as it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Fried were named the starter.
Instead, the Tigers will get to see four of their players on the field to begin the All-Star game. Gleyber Torres at second base, Javier Baez and Riley Greene in the outfield, and last but not least, Skubal on the mound.
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