Grading Tigers’ 2026 starting rotation in the aftermath of the Tarik Skubal trade

As the 2026 MLB playoffs rage on, the Tigers are sitting at home pondering what the heck went wrong this season in order to be watching two barely-above-.500 AL Central teams fighting for a spot in the ALCS. That should have been Detroit, but the 2026 season was a failure.

There were points when the offense struggled and went through major droughts, there were other times when the starting rotation wasn’t quite as sharp post-Tarik Skubal, and the worst trend of the season was the bullpen struggling so much that late-game meltdowns led to 20-plus losses after leading after seven innings.

Injuries, struggles at the plate, struggles on the mound, and a lack of positive movement at the trade deadline led to the Tigers missing the playoffs by eight games.

While there were struggles on the mound, as stated previously, that mostly came from the bullpen. The starting rotation, even after Skubal and Casey Mize moved on, held up pretty nicely and gave the Tigers a realistic shot at making a playoff run. Unfortunately, injuries were an issue late as Jack Flaherty pitched in just one game after the Skubal and Mize trades, and it was for just two innings in late-September.

The rotation was really limited in August and September because of injuries and dealing two of the team’s starters. Still, the starting rotation in the Skubal/Mize aftermath deserves a passing grade.

Grading the Tigers’ starting rotation post-Tarik Skubal

After the All-Star break, the Tigers had the league’s seventh-best team ERA, and the bullpen wasn’t the reason it was so low at 3.67. It was the starting rotation.

Down Skubal, Mize, and Flaherty, who was missing time with an injury, Troy Melton and Framber Valdez led a hodgepodge rotation with guys like Jackson Jobe, Keider Montero, Drew Anderson, and a taste of Andrew Sears and River Ryan. The Tigers’ rotation was holding its own and despite tough stretches from Melton, Valdez, and Montero, they were a bright spot in an otherwise dark season.

Melton assumed the role of ace and had a really good August but ran out of gas in September, Valdez had a great September and a poor August, Montero had the same luck as Melton, Anderson looked really strong as a starter, and Jobe had his ups and downs.

Let’s go by the numbers.

These are obviously the pitchers who got the most starts after Skubal was dealt to the Dodgers, and there are some ballooned ERAs (Melton and Montero in September), but for the most part, the starting rotation was strong.

Is this an “A” grade after trading two of the top three starting pitchers? No, but it is impressive for a staff that was basically pieced together with string and bubble gum after Skubal and Mize left. It’s probably more in the “B” range because, while it wasn’t bad by any means, it could have been much better, especially with how poorly Melton and Montero pitched in September.

Still, it was encouraging to see Valdez, Jobe, and Anderson finish the season on high notes.

Overall final grade: B

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