Tarik Skubal’s major league debut on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox was far from ideal, but neither were the circumstances. Generally, teams prefer to call up high end pitching prospects when they’re stretched out and pitching well, and if positive in something of a favorable matchup.
Instead, just 10 days after throwing his first two innings of intersquad action, and after missing all of the preseason summer camp waiting to test negative after a nasty bout with COVID-19, Skubal found himself a surprise call-up against a red-hot young lineup stacked with right-handed power bats.