Tarik Skubal wins 2025 American League Cy Young: Tigers ace takes home award for second straight year

The American League Cy Young award winner for 2025 is Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal. He received 26 of 30 first-place votes.

Skubal, who turns 29 on Nov. 20, also won the award in 2024 and did so in unanimous fashion. This crowning makes Skubal the first repeat winner since Jacob deGrom of the Mets in 2018 and 2019. He’s the first AL pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Youngs since Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez with the Red Sox in 1999 and 2000. As well, Skubal is now the 22nd pitcher in MLB history to win multiple Cy Young awards. He’s just the second Tiger to win two Cy Youngs, joining Denny McLain, who won the award with Detroit in 1968 and 1969. 

Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal aren’t just the 2025 Cy Young winners; they’re the future of baseball

Matt Snyder

Skubal prevailed in the balloting, which is conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America, over his fellow AL finalists, Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox and Hunter Brown of the Astros. Here’s a look at the full voting:

He joins Pirates ace Paul Skenes, who was named the National League Cy Young winner.

This past season, Skubal led the American League in ERA and also paced the AL in ERA+ with a mark of 187. He backed it up with an AL-best FIP of 2.45, and his K/BB ratio of 7.30 led all qualifiers in MLB. Skubal also struck out 32.2% of opposing batters, which also led all qualifying pitchers, and his WAR of 6.5 was tops among AL pitchers. He set a career high with 241 strikeouts in 2025 and registered a quality start in 68% of his trips to the mound versus an MLB average of 51%. 

Any current discussion of Skubal right now must address the trade rumors that have persisted. He’s going into his walk year in 2026, and it’s possible — although probably not likely — that the Tigers will look to deal him this offseason before losing him to free agency. This of course is not the club’s only option with regard to their remaining control over Skubal, especially since parting with him likely closes their current contending window. 

For now, though, the story with Skubal is that he’s once again been recognized as the American League’s best pitcher.