The Detroit Tigers are still in the middle of their MLB season, but their ace Tarik Skubal may be taking home some midseason hardware, anyway.

Skubal is one of four MLB players nominated in the “Best MLB Player” category at the 2025 ESPY Awards, ESPN’s annual awards show. First baseman Freddie Freeman and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and outfielder Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees join Skubal as nominees.

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Skubal was the unanimous choice for the 2024 American League Cy Young Award as he went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA in 192 innings pitched. He became the first AL player with a pitching triple crown (leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts) in a 162-game season since Justin Verlander did it for the Tigers in 2011.

The lefty ace is on track for an arguably even better season in 2025, now at 10-3 with a 2.23 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 121 innings. He is the favorite to win the 2025 AL Cy Young Award, which would make him just the second Tigers pitcher ever to win multiple Cy Young Awards (Denny McLain, 1968-69).

However, he likely has a slim chance of winning the ESPY award.

By FanGraph’s version of wins above replacement (fWAR), Aaron Judge had the fourth-best season of the last 25 years (11.3 fWAR) in 2024, between three Barry Bonds seasons (2001-02, 2004). Ohtani also had a historic 2024 season, becoming the first player ever to hit at least 50 home runs and steal at least 50 bases in a season. He also became the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP award as the two-way star spent the season recovering from a repair of the UCL in his throwing arm.

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While Freeman did not have as productive of a season as Skubal in 2024 (3.9 fWAR compared to Skubal’s 5.9), he produced arguably the year’s most iconic moment with a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees. He hit four home runs and 12 RBIs in five games and was named the World Series MVP.

In other words, it would be a major upset if Skubal won the award.

Still, it’s been an action-packed week for the lefty, as he started for the AL in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 15, one that the National League won in a first-of-its-kind home run derby walk-off after the game finished in a 6-6 tie after nine innings.

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The ESPYS will take place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, airing at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal nominated for ESPY award