Tigers fans can overlook ESPN's Tarik Skubal 'disrespect' with AJ Hinch prediction

After Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal ran away with the 2024 American League Cy Young Award, he had every reason to be the favorite to repeat in 2025. However, he may already have some doubters.

In his latest MLB Awards Watch update, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN named Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic as his front-runner for this year's AL Cy Young Award. It's not an unreasonable take, as Bubic has a 1.45 ERA through 68 1/3 innings of work this season, but the Skubal disrespect is real.

Doolittle ranked Skubal not second, not third, but fourth in line behind Bubic, Max Fried and Nathan Eovaldi in the race for the award. In other words, he doesn't even expect Skubal to be a finalist. In fairness, though, Doolittle admits that the leaderboard is "likely to change every time one of these hurlers takes the mound."

"While Skubal's ERA is up a tiny bit (2.39 to 2.49), his FIP is better (2.49 and 1.98)," Doolittle wrote. "The latter portends a continuation of the dominance we've seen from the Tigers' ace since last season. Indeed, Skubal's last start -- a complete-game, two-hit, 13-strikeout shutout against Cleveland -- was the best outing of his sparkling career."

No kidding. Skubal is just getting started.

Tarik Skubal disrespected in ESPN awards predictions, but AJ Hinch finally gets recognition

Doolittle may have made some questionable picks in the AL Cy Young race (or, at least, just made his decision based on the surface-level statistics at the moment), but at least he was spot on with his prediction for AL Manager of the Year.

Tigers manager AJ Hinch, who finished third in the voting last season but has never won the award, is this year's early pick for Manager of the Year, and it shouldn't be hard to see why.

"The Tigers' breakout might have begun late last season, but it has only accelerated in 2025 as Detroit has become the story in the American League," Doolittle wrote, crediting Hinch for his role in the team's success. As we talked about earlier this year, Hinch is doing a phenomenal job of having everybody forget about his time with the Astros when they were found guilty of stealing signs and compromising the integrity of the game.

Between his expert bullpen management, his ability to navigate injuries, and his proven track record in getting players to outperform expectations, Hinch deserves his flowers. An AL Central division title should all but guarantee him the award.

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