Skubal is the obvious star of this free-agent class, a No. 1 starter on any club when he’s healthy, although we didn’t see that version of Skubal as much in 2026 as we did in 2024 and 2025, when he won back-to-back Cy Young Awards and was worth 6+ WAR each season (using either version of WAR). He can show three plus pitches — his upper-90s four-seamer, wipeout changeup with excellent arm speed and some fading action, and a slider that plays above its “shape,” due in part to its velocity, up to 92-93. He’s posted walk rates below 5 percent in four straight seasons, consistently limits hard contact, and doesn’t let hitters pull the ball in the air that much, so his BABIPs have come in better than league average in every year of his career — he’s at .281 overall and has never allowed a BABIP of .300 in any season, which is Clayton Kershaw-level pitching.
