Reigning American League Cy Young winner and Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal added another honor to his resume on Tuesday when MLB Network fans voted him the best pitcher in baseball headed into the 2025 season.

Skubal finished ahead of Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes and National League Cy Young winner Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves. They finished second and third, respectively. Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Spencer Strider and Shota Imanaga rounded out the list.

In 2024, Skubal was, in a word, dominant. The Tigers' lefty went 18-4 with a league-best 2.39 ERA, also leading the league in strikeouts (228), FIP (2.49) and ERA+ (170). He also had a stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio, striking out 10.7 per nine innings and issuing only 1.6 free passes.

The honor is even more impressive considering it was a fan list and Skubal had to overcome the bias that comes with it, favoring much bigger fanbases and better-established names. The New York Yankees' Gerrit Cole, for example, finished fifth on the list despite only starting 17 games and having, by his standards, a mediocre year. Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers placed sixth despite not having started more than 15 games in a season since 2019.

Skubal was arguably the best pitcher in baseball in 2024, but he doesn't have the track record to match Cole and deGrom.

Tarik Skubal looks to lead the Tigers back to the postseason

Tarik Skubal
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tigers came out of nowhere in 2024 to reach the American League Division Series, and the club has its sights set even higher in 2025. Skubal will be the team's ace, with youngster Reese Olson likely following him. Jackson Jobe, the No. 5 prospect in baseball, will also angle for a spot in the rotation, as will new signee Alex Cobb.

As for the offense, the Tigers are still pursuing reinforcement for a lineup that ranked near the bottom of the Major Leagues. They've already signed former Yankee Gleyber Torres to a one-year deal and are said to be pursuing outfield slugger Anthony Santander. They have also been linked to Alex Bregman and Ha-Seong Kim.

The newcomers, whoever they all might be, will have their work cut out for them when trying to bolster the Tigers' lineup. Of the Detroit starters, only Riley Greene hit more than 20 home runs, while Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling were the only other players with an above-average OPS+ (meaning more than 100). As a team, they ranked 23rd in overall OPS (.685), 24th in total home runs (162) and 24th in batting average (.234).