Pointless bias could rob Tigers' Tarik Skubal of another All-Star Game start

Last year, Tarik Skubal pitched the second inning of the All-Star Game behind Corbin Burnes, who'd been appointed to starting duties by American League manager Bruce Bochy, who said "In my mind, it's just his time. It's his time to start an All-Star Game. That's why I chose him."

By the time All-Star selections were fully announced, Skubal and Burnes had almost identical stats: 19 starts apiece, a 2.41 ERA for Skubal and 2.43 for Burnes, 10-3 record for Skubal and 9-4 for Burnes. Strikeouts were the big differentiator that put Skubal on top, and he led Burnes by 30 thanks to three dominant 10+ strikeout starts.

But Burnes, like Bochy said, had never started an All-Star Game, not even in his Cy Young-winning season (the honor went to who else but Shohei Ohtani), so he threw him a bone.

Sentimentality or wanting to give a veteran his due didn't impress Tigers fans, who knew that Skubal — one of the only players to really get excited about on what was then still a below .500 team — deserved the start.

This year, there's still a chance the AL manager makes the wrong choice. Despite the fact that Skubal looks better than ever this season, Yankees and AL manager Aaron Boone could choose his own ace, Max Fried, instead.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone could opt for Max Fried instead of Tigers' Tarik Skubal for All-Star Game start

There's an argument to be made for Fried, who has been dominant in New York and the Yankees' best starting pitcher by a mile. His ERA hasn't risen above 2.27 (where it currently sits through 19 starts) since his second outing of the season and has even dipped as low as 1.01, while Skubal shook a little more toward the beginning of the year. Fried's fastball is quite literally the best in baseball.

But Skubal has been better by almost every other metric. He has a 2.02 ERA through 18 starts;148 strikeouts to Fried's 111 (and Skubal's done it in three fewer innings); and we can't forget the complete game shutout or the perfect game he took into the sixth against the Rangers. Skubal makes 10+ strikeout appearances look easy — he has six this season, and has only walked 14 batters.

Skubal is the even clearer choice to start the All-Star Game this year than he was last year, so Tigers fans can only hope that Boone doesn't make the same mistake that Bochy did.