The interaction was clearly tongue-in-cheek, but it spotlighted the inevitable negotiations ahead for the Tigers ace.

That also means there's a foundation of what could be a great Cy Young case already in place, but there's also plenty of time for things to change, whether it's someone who doesn't appear to be a factor getting hot (Jake Arrieta's 2015 run of insanity started on June 21) or someone who looks to be in the race either falling apart or suffering an injury.

In a recent survey of 135 anonymous players across 21 teams by The Athletic, Skubal’s game received plenty of praise. “He’s nasty for everybody,” one player said of the lefty. “Everything’s really hard, his changeup’s really good. Hard to pick up. Everything’s kind of funky coming out of all of the stuff he does.”

Tarik Skubal joined elite company alongside Clayton Kershaw after his dominant start against the Baltimore Orioles.

Tarik Skubal Gets Good Cy Young Award News on Tuesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

BALTIMORE—Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal is everything you can ask for in a starting pitcher, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Thursday night at Camden Yards. What’s so special about the 28-year-old Skubal?

Tarik Skubal's 12 starts dating from April 8 are historically surgical. The latest came Thursday night in Baltimore.