Who is the Better Player? Tarik Skubal or Paul Skenes?
Welcome to a new series called “Who Is the Better Player?” This is part one of an ongoing series that will run throughout the season, continue into the offseason, and pick back up the following year. In each article, I’ll compare two players, break down their statistics, and ultimately share who I believe has the upperhand. I’ll also include a poll at the end so you can voice your own opinion.
To kick things off, we’re starting with two of the best pitchers in all of MLB: Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes.
Tarik Skubal is a 29 year old left-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and is set to enter free agency at age 30. Over his seven-season career, all with Detroit, he has earned two All-Star selections, two Cy Young Awards, a Triple Crown, and two ERA titles.
Paul Skenes is a 24 year old right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and is set to enter free agency at age 28. Over his three-season career, all with Pittsburgh, he has earned two All-Star selections, a Cy Young Award, an ERA title, and the Rookie of the Year award.
Because Skubal has started significantly more games (144 compared to Skenes’ 61), he has higher totals in categories like strikeouts, wins, losses, and innings pitched. He also has a higher career bWAR (19.7 vs. 14.6). Excluding his shortened 2020 season, Skubal averages fewer walks per nine innings (1.85 vs. 2.13) and has a lower walk percentage (3.6% vs. 6.4%). In addition, he leads Skenes in both chase rate (36.2% vs. 32.2%) and whiff rate (29.8% vs. 23.9%).
On the other hand, Skenes holds the advantage in several key stats, including ERA, WHIP, win percentage, strikeout percentage, ground-ball rate, and FIP. He also has a slightly higher strikeouts-per-nine rate (10.7 vs. 10.4) and throws harder on average. Skenes features a six pitch mix, compared to Skubal’s five. He also allows less hard contact, with an average exit velocity of just 85.0 mph compared to Skubal’s 89.9 mph.
So, who’s the better player? Based on the numbers, I would say Skenes, considering how quickly he has matched, and in some areas surpassed, Skubal’s production despite a shorter career.
But what do you think? Who’s the better pitcher in your opinion? Vote in the poll below and help decide the winner. In the next article, I’ll reveal the results of the reader vote.
Don’t forget to vote in the poll below, and thanks for reading!
