Tarik Skubal’s rehab in West Michigan went perfectly

There was a Tarik Skubal party in Comstock Park on Sunday. The Detroit Tigers’ ace took the mound for a rehab outing against the Dayton Dragons, the Cincinnati Reds’ High-A affiliate. Huge crowds turned out on a beautiful, sunny day, and Skubal did not disappoint. He appeared fully on track to rejoin the Tigers’ rotation for his next start, which should be on Friday or Saturday at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians.

A rehab start from a major leaguer is generally a good day for the team. Skubal took care of the boys, getting a mobile coffee bar for the clubhouse, and planning to treat them all to a nice dinner after the game. Meanwhile, Dan Hasty and the Whitecaps’ staff got a break from a brutal six-week stretch of baseball with the Tigers’ High-A affiliate to call a Skubal game and see the park packed to the gills.

This whole recovery story has been pretty incredible. Skubal felt some discomfort in late April, and during a start against the Atlanta Braves in early May, his elbow was locking up on him. The diagnosis was bone chips in the elbow, which typically requires arthroscopic surgery to remove the loose bodies from the joint. Instead, Dr. Neal ElAttrache offered Skubal the option to try a new nanoscope procedure that could cut the recovered time in half. Everything went well in the May 6 surgery, and almost exactly a month later, Skubal took the mound for his first game action.

He looked 100 percent. Skubal punched out two in the first inning, sitting 96-97 mph with his fastball. He needed just nine pitches. A flyout and another pair of strikeouts followed in the second, and by then Skubal was reportedly up to 99 mph per Jason Beck. A two-run shot from Tigers’ center field prospect Jackson Strong, Strong’s third homer in as many days, gave him an early lead to work with, but he wouldn’t need much assistance.

Victor Acosta got a single off of Skubal in the third, earning bragging rights among his Dragons teammates. Otherwise, Skubal cruised through the third and fourth innings, needing just 46 pitches and punching out six to that point. The goal was to get him through five innings to show he’s 100 percent ready to rejoin the Tigers’ rotation, and Skubal managed that without breaking a sweat.

He collected the first two outs of the fifth and was still only at 50 pitches. Jacob Friend reached on an infield single for the second hit against Skubal. Third baseman Alfredo Alcantara hit the hardest ball of the day as the next hitter up, but Jackson Strong hauled it in to end Skubal’s fifth inning of work.

That was all that Skubal needed to accomplish. He threw 44 of 54 pitches for strikes, and there was really just one hard hit ball. He struck out six without a walk, and appears set to return on schedule. The Tigers will see how Skubal recovers, and have him throw his usual bullpen mid-week, and as long as nothing goes wrong, we should see him back on the mound next weekend.