The reigning AL Cy Young victor and the standout young hurler in the sport will be showcasing their talents at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game next Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta. Detroit Tigers’ left-hander Tarik Skubal and Pittsburgh Pirates’ right-hander Paul Skenes have been selected as the All-Star Game’s starting pitchers. The revelation came during Fox’s MLB broadcast on Saturday evening.
Here is Skenes accepting the invitation from Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts, who is set to lead the National League squad.
At the age of 23, Skenes is poised to become the youngest pitcher ever to commence consecutive All-Star Games, exceeding Hall of Famer Robin Roberts’ record. Roberts initiated the 1950 and 1951 All-Star Games at 23 and 24 years old, respectively. Skenes currently boasts a league-leading 2.01 ERA and has amassed 131 strikeouts across 121 innings. He secured the NL Rookie of the Year title last season and concluded third in the NL Cy Young voting.
In Skubal’s case, he participated in the All-Star Game the prior season, albeit without starting. It marked his inaugural All-Star Game recognition. Subsequently, he clinched the AL Cy Young award unanimously. This season, Skubal’s performance has elevated further, evidenced by a diminished ERA (2.39 vs. 2.23), a reduced WHIP (0.92 vs. 0.83), and an amplified strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.51 vs. 9.56). He has risen to prominence as baseball’s most dominant pitcher.
Skenes and Skubal undoubtedly merit the All-Star Game start, even though the options were somewhat constrained. Several other contenders for the All-Star Game start had to withdraw from the event due to concerns regarding their workload, including Hunter Brown (Houston Astros), Garrett Crochet (Boston Red Sox), Max Fried (New York Yankees), and Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies).
Here are the comprehensive All-Star Game rosters. The starting position players gain their spots via fan voting. The reserve position players and pitchers are chosen through a combination of player voting and selections made by the commissioner’s office. The starting pitchers are traditionally picked by the managers — Roberts and Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone — after consulting with the pitcher’s respective teams.
The 95th annual All-Star Game is slated for Tuesday, July 15. The American League has emerged victorious in 10 of the past 11 All-Star Games, although the overall series record reflects a closer contest at 48-44-2 in favor of the AL.
