MLB analyst gives reason why Tarik Skubal has edge over Max Fried, Hunter Brown, Jacob deGrom in AL Cy Young race 

Tarik Skubal earned a well-deserved AL Player of the Week award for his performances to start June. The Detroit Tigers pitcher has picked off from where he left last season after winning the American League Triple Crown and the Cy Young award.

Halfway through the season, Skubal has a 10-2 record with a 2.15 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 17 starts and 109.0 innings of pitching. He is well positioned to win the AL Cy Young award yet again as he leads in WHIP and is the joint leader for most wins alongside New York Yankees' Max Fried.

But unlike last season where he was the runaway leader, he has competition this year with the likes of Fried, Houston Astros' Hunter Brown and Texas Rangers' Jacob deGrom all in the hunt. Such has been the quality from all four aces that Skubal, with a 2.15 ERA, is the last amongst them.

All four pitchers have a WHIP less than 0.94 and only Fried has an Opponents Batting Average (OAA) over .200. While there is some outside competition from pitchers like Minnesota Twins' Joe Ryan, Seattle Mariners' Bryan Woo and Boston Red Sox's Garrett Crochet, the Cy Young currently hangs in the balance between the top four.

On the "Baseball Today" podcast, host Trevor Plouffe brought up this discussion with analyst Dalton Freely. As per Freely, Skubal has the wind behind his sails, hot off a 7.0 innings scoreless outing that included 13 strikeouts and just one hit against the Twins which will propel him to his second Cy Young.

"What Skubal's doing right now — it was electric last night, Trev," Freely said. "The Tigers' first Sunday Night Baseball game since May of 2017. You have your ace. He shoves. Seven innings, one hit, no runs, 13 Ks. That's what baseball needs, right? On prime time, you have one of the best stars, one of the biggest and best pitchers in baseball, goes out and shoves."

(Timestamp: 17:17 onwards)

Tigers manager opens up about pressure Tarik Skubal is living up to

According to Tigers manager AJ Hinch, Tarik Skubal's performances have propelled him to a different stratosphere in the current baseball landscape. After their game against the Minnesota Twins, Hinch acknowledged the love the starter is receiving.

“There’s a lot of love for that guy,” Hinch said, “because of everything he does, when everybody expects it. It’s one thing to do it when you have sort of that first performance. But everybody in the league expects this guy to be perfect. And tonight, there was a moment when you’re like, ‘This is getting pretty deep into the game.’ And he wasn’t giving up any contact.”

If Sunday's night effort was any indication, Skubal is ready to not leave anything on the mound. He will hope to continue as the Tigers command an AL Central lead with a 53-32 record.

Edited by Veer Badani