Tarik Skubal named to AL All-Star rotation

The best team in the AL gets a little more representation at the All Star Game.

Complete All Star rosters were announced this evening and, unsurprisingly, the Detroit Tigers have several players on the American League team. Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene and Javier Baez had already been announced as starters via the two-phase Fan Ballot, but Tarik Skubal was unsurprisingly added today as the two pitching staffs were announced.

Skubal joining the AL pitching staff was a given. There are only two questions left; will the reigning AL Cy Young winner elect to take a well-deserved rest, and if he chooses to play, will he be the starting pitcher? Skubal’s such a competitor I expect him to play if the schedule allows it, and considering he leads the AL in strikeout rate, WHIP, FIP and fWAR, is tied for the lead in wins, and is 4th in ERA, he’s certainly earned the opportunity to start. A third question, I suppose – how did Skubal win the 2024 pitching Triple Crown and a unanimous Cy Young, then get better in 2025? This is peak pitching performance, folks.

Zach McKinstry’s excellent 2025 has flown somewhat under the radar outside of Detroit, and it continues to do so. A career .233/.300/.377 hitter, McKinstry is slashing .286/.357/.457 in 2025 while playing average or better defense at all of second base, shortstop, third base, left field and right field as the situation calls for. He’s also added 10 stolen bases to serve as a truly well-rounded supersub that’s been impossible to keep out of the lineup. McKinstry is 11th in fWAR among American League position players, so it’s really too bad he didn’t make the team outright.

The best team in the American League is sending at least 4 deserving players to the All Star game this year. There could have been a few more – I expect McKinstry to earn heavy consideration to replace an injured Alex Bregman, at least – but this was the most predictable outcome. With only 23 total spots to allocate in each league, and every team being granted a representative, there really isn’t much room for more Tigers on the roster. Dillon Dingler could’ve been considered as the backup catcher, but Alejandro Kirk is probably the right call there. Will Vest is 8th in fWAR among qualified AL relievers, so he fell just short of getting the nod as well.

Click here for the complete rosters for both the AL and NL teams. Expect a few more replacements as players elect to take a break or focus on just the Home-Run Derby rather than play the optional exhibition game.