IN THE SIXTH In the second inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series, Detroit Tigers star Tarik Skubal threw the biggest pitch of his career. It was a 97 mph fastball in the zone, a pitch that caused Cleveland Guardians slugger David Fry to jump into an inning-ending double play, preserving a scoreless tie.

Shortly thereafter came the defining moment of his postseason dominance: As he left the mound, the game broadcast showed Skubal shouting a few poignant words to the crowd at Progressive Field who were booing him.

“I probably shouldn’t say any bad words while the cameras are on me and the kids are watching,” Skubal said after takeoff. “But it was just emotions, raw emotions.”

The expression of emotion made the rounds on social media when Skubal’s own mother, Laura, shut down her son in response to one of the most popular posts – an irony Skubal noted Friday.

Tarik Daniel!!

— Laura Skubal (@lskubal) October 7, 2024

“It’s interesting that my mom shared this on Twitter,” he said. “You should listen to my mother. I saw her get kicked off the court in a lot of high school basketball games.”

“I guess it runs in the family there.”

That kind of competitive pressure is why there isn’t a pitcher on the planet the Tigers would rather cede their season to in Game 5 on Saturday in Cleveland. The AL’s best pitcher this year is now tasked with extending Detroit’s improbable postseason run.

“No moment is too big,” Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. “There is so much conviction behind every pitch. It’s so much fun to play behind it. He’s special and he’s just getting started.”

THE TIGER CAN Without an unexpected call on draft day in 2018, they wouldn’t have had the luxury of turning to the American League Cy Young favorite in an elimination game.

After Detroit took right guard Casey Mize with the No. 1 overall pick, Tigers manager David Chadd received a call from an agent friend in the middle of the second round.

“Your best player isn’t even on your board,” the voice said.

The call came from Scott Boras, who had an early idea of ​​what Skubal could become; Former customer Bill Caudill recommended checking it out.

“My God – this guy has incredible arm strength,” Boras said to his colleagues after seeing Skubal for the first time.

Skubal was not a well-known name in the scouting world; He had undergone Tommy John surgery the year before and played college baseball at Seattle University. His junior year numbers were more okay than outstanding, especially given the mid-level competition he faced: He had a 4.16 ERA and gave up 66 hits in 80 innings, along with 106 strikeouts.

“He was coming off an injury, so I don’t think the industry paid much attention to Tarik,” said Chadd, who now works for the Philadelphia Phillies. “We had minimal insight into Tarik.”

Chadd and the Tigers’ then-scouting director Scott Pleis had doubts, but were confident enough to make Skubal a ninth-round draft pick. They paid him a $350,000 signing bonus — more than double the slot’s value — to keep him from returning to college for his senior year.

Those doubts were put to rest when Detroit brass got a look at him. They quickly realized they had something special.

“I think we knew what we had right away when he first stepped on the mound,” Chadd said. “At that point we were surprised by the capability.”

Skubal pitched well enough in his professional debut this summer to earn a promotion from rookie ball, first to Low-A Connecticut and then to Single-A West Michigan. From then on, he was seen in the same ranking as first-round picks Mize and Matt Manning in the organization. Two years later, he joined two other acclaimed pitchers on Kiley McDaniel’s 2020 list of the top 100 prospects in baseball.

Still, Skubal made his MLB debut in August 2020 without much fanfare. He went 1-4 with a 5.63 ERA in eight games during the pandemic-shortened season, but showed improvement the following year, making 29 starts in 2021 with a 4.34 ERA. He took another big step in 2022, posting a 3.51 ERA. But another elbow injury prevented him from making 21 starts in his 2022 season. He underwent flexor tendon surgery in August and opted against a second Tommy John, allowing him to return in July 2023. Since then, he has been one of the best pitchers in the sport.

“He deserves all the credit for taking the mindset in rehab of, ‘I’m going to come back better than I was before I got injured,'” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said. “He made some mechanical changes during rehab and developed his changeup.

Thanks to an unexpected performance in Detroit in October, a nationwide audience can now see what those who have seen and experienced Skubal for more than a year have seen.

Skubal is just the fifth pitcher to begin a postseason career with multiple scoreless starts in at least six innings. In his first postseason action, he beat the Houston Astros in Game 1 of their wild-card series by doing things that made baseball excited. He did the same thing in Game 2 of that series, shutting out the Guardians over seven innings.

Oakland Athletics slugger Brent Rooker, who has 15 plate appearances against Skubal, the second-most of any pitcher in his career, was watching at home and took to social media to express his admiration.

Tarik does a thing where he pitches to you at like 94-95 and then gets 2 strikes or a big spot in the game and suddenly bumps it up to 99-100. A lot of fun as a batsman.

— Brent Rooker (@Brent_Rooker12) October 7, 2024

“What makes him elite is the way he maintains his arm speed in transition,” Rooker told ESPN in a phone call after Game 2. “There is nothing in the delivery that suggests it is coming. Nothing. And it has a good fade to him.” The arm side that plays his fastball well and his pitching ability make him a top player.

That ability to command his pitches has only gotten better since his return last season. Skubal used to rely on his high-velocity four-seam fastball, but this year he’s incorporated his changeup and slider more often. And even though he throws his heater less often, the off-speed pitches come quicker. In fact, his changeup in ALDS Game 2 averaged 87.8 mph and peaked at 90.4. The league average in transition is 85 miles per hour.

“It’s just up to you,” Rooker said. “He’s fiery and competitive. It’s always a fun fight.”

Because of his skills and competitive spirit, Skubal led the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts – and became the odds-on favorite to accept his first Cy Young Award next month.

“That’s one of the reasons I asked him to sign a ball towards the end of the season,” Rooker said. “I enjoy doing this with great players.”

No one is more at home for Skubal’s dominant performances than his Tigers teammates, who appreciated watching a homegrown teammate’s rise to greatness. They are as amazed as everyone else.

“I want to ask him, ‘How does it feel to go on the mound and know you’re the best pitcher in the world?'” reliever Beau Brieske said recently. “I’d like to know what that feels like, to be completely honest.”

And on Saturday, with a chance to lead Detroit to an American League Championship Series showdown with the New York Yankees, Skubal will take to the mound at Progressive Field hoping to stun them again.

“He’s got everything,” catcher Austin Hedges said. “He’s a unit on the mound. He has a crazy delusion. He throws 100. He has two different fastballs. He can wipe out off-speed. He is the ultimate competitor.”

“Every team dreams of having him as an ace. This guy is the best there is in our league.”