Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal and catcher Jake Rogers have shared the dressing room at Comerica Park for several seasons now, and appear to have built quite a strong bond over the years, playing baseball together day in and day out.
Such a friendship is perhaps not surprising to see, as a good relationship between a catcher and a pitcher on the field is extremely important for any succesful team. The pair works in tandem for pretty much every single pitch that a pitcher throws when he is on the mound.
A catcher is tasked with calling pitches, effectively telling the pitcher what the best variation of pitch would be in any given situation, and providing the man on the mound a target to aim for, so to say. Looking at how succesful Tarik Skubal was in 2024, it is safe to say that Jake Rogers did his job behind the plate perfectly.
![march madness logo](http://staticg.sportskeeda.com/skm/assets/march-madness-logo.png)
The pair reunited on the field earlier this week for the first time since the 2024 season, as the Tigers began working for the new season. On Thursday, Skubal took to Instagram to share a series of snaps from one of the sessions, expressing his delight at reuniting with Rogers.
"Missed you 🫶🏻" Tarik Skubal captioned his Instagram post.
Tarik Skubal finishes just outside top 10 players of 2025, per MLB Network
On Thursday, the official MLB account on Instagram posted ranks 11-20 of the "Top 100 players of 2025," a list prepared by MLB Network. Tarik Skubal, who had a fantastic 2024 season, finished just outside the top 10, coming in at No. 11.
Three other pitchers who had exceptional sesaons also featured on the list, with Paul Skenes, Zack Wheeler and Chris Sale showing up in the top 20.
The 28-year-old later took to Instagram to share the post to his story.
![Screenshot of Skubal's Instagram story (Image from - Instagram.com/@tarikskubal IG Stories)](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/ecc09-17394926920603-1920.jpg?w=190 190w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/ecc09-17394926920603-1920.jpg?w=720 720w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/ecc09-17394926920603-1920.jpg?w=640 640w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/ecc09-17394926920603-1920.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/ecc09-17394926920603-1920.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/ecc09-17394926920603-1920.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/ecc09-17394926920603-1920.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/ecc09-17394926920603-1920.jpg 1920w)
Though it proved insufficient for bagging him a top 10 spot on the list, Skubal's stats in the 2024 season - an 18-4 win/loss record, a 2.39 ERA and 228 total strikeouts, was enough to win him an AL Cy Young award.
Heading into the new season, fans will be hoping Skubal can pick up where he left off and continue terrorising offenses with his exceptional quality on the mound, and potentially take home a second consecutive Cy Young award come November of 2025.