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With teams already having played one-third of their 162 games and the heat of the summer blazing down, the MLB regular season is in full swing.
Tons of baseball’s biggest stars and up-and-comers have been killing it so far, and have even put their names in the conversation for some prestigious individual awards.
For the Cy Young award, given to each league’s best pitcher, the two aces to beat right now are the American League’s Tarik Skubal and the National League’s Paul Skenes. If the positions hold, this would be Skubal’s second-straight AL Cy Young, and Skenes would be rising from last year’s Rookie of the Year to the top of all pitchers.
Most Expensive Tarik Skubal Card – $5,000
A familiar face when it comes to awards, the odds-on favorite to take home the American League Cy Young award is Tarik Skubal. After getting drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft, the 29-year-old pitcher has certainly made a name for himself. Last season, Skubal had his big breakout year, finishing with an 18-4 record, a 2.39 ERA, 228 strikeouts and a 0.92 WHIP. These numbers propelled Skubal to his first All-Star nod and Cy Young award.
Fast forward to this season, and Skubal is eyeing his second straight year as the American League’s top pitcher. His numbers through 11 starts are pretty impressive, as he’s posted a 2.49 ERA and 0.84 while striking out a league-high 92 batters. Just a few days ago on May 25 against the Cleveland Guardians, Skubal had one of the best games of his MLB career. He recorded the first complete game shutout of his career, complete with 13 strikeouts and only 94 pitches thrown. One of the most impressive parts, Skubal’s last pitch of the game came in at 102.6 mph, the fastest strikeout pitch thrown by a starter since pitch tracking first started in 2008. With more performances like this, Skubal is on his way to cementing himself as the AL Cy Young winner.
Skubal’s most expensive card ever sold for the relatively low price of $5,000 in June of 2024, before he locked down his first Cy Young award. The card is a 2020 Bowman Chrome Orange Shimmer Refractor Autograph, that’s numbered out of 25. With the card getting a perfect PSA grade of 10 and it being one of Skubal’s first Bowmans, it explains why it’s his most valuable card to date. If Skubal’s career keeps on going in the direction it’s heading towards, his card values will skyrocket.
Most Expensive Paul Skenes Card – $1,110,000
Just last year, Paul Skenes was the favorite for National League Rookie of the Year, an award he eventually ended up winning after an impressive first season in the MLB. After getting selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2023 MLB Draft, Skenes would eventually get called up in just under 10 months to make his debut in the big leagues. Despite spending very little time in the minor leagues, this didn’t slow down Skenes. He finished his rookie year with a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 170 strikeouts. These numbers were good enough for Skenes to be named the starting pitcher for the NL All-Star team, finish third-place in Cy Young voting and, of course, win Rookie of the Year.
With his numbers so far this season, Skenes is certainly in range of getting over the hump, and ultimately bringing home the Cy Young. While his record isn’t great at 3-5, the 23-year-old ace’s other numbers through his first 12 starts are great. He currently has a 2.15 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP and 77 strikeouts. In his most recent outing, he threw 6.2 scoreless innings and struck out seven batters. Right now, he’s the betting favorite to bring home the award, sitting at +165 odds.
This 2024 Topps Chrome Update MLB Debut Patch Autograph card sold for a whopping $1.1 million in a Fanatics Collect auction in March, making it the most expensive Skenes card by far. Along with a personal autograph, this one-of-one card includes the MLB Debut patch that was on Skenes’s jersey during his first career game. According to a story from ESPN, an 11-year-old kid pulled the record-breaking card from a Christmas present, and turned down a monster package from the Pirates in exchange for the card. Skenes isn’t even two years into his career yet, so the fact that he’s already starting to add some major accolades is an indicator that he might be an all-time great one day, both in baseball and the card-world.
If you want to read more about baseball cards and some MLB players to look out for, check out this story from the Ludex blog.
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