Seattle University Professional Athletes

Skubal Announces Himself in October

Tarik Skubal didn't need long to make his postseason statement. The Seattle University product took the ball for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and delivered exactly what a championship-caliber team asks of its ace: six innings, seven strikeouts, one earned run in a 5-3 Dodgers win.

The outing carried extra weight beyond the box score. Skubal arrived in Los Angeles via a blockbuster trade deadline deal from the Detroit Tigers — a team that had never given him a postseason stage despite back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards. The Dodgers handed him that stage on the first available opportunity, and he made it count, logging a 1.50 ERA in his playoff debut.

For Tigers fans, it was a gut-punch made worse by how clean the performance looked. For Dodgers fans riding the wave of a potential third consecutive World Series title, it was confirmation that the trade was worth every piece.

Skubal finished the combined regular season 12-7 with a 2.61 ERA across 16 starts with Detroit and 10 with Los Angeles, striking out 70 in 62 innings as a Dodger while walking just 13. The Dodgers won 100 games and earned a first-round bye — Skubal was a central reason why.

The Offseason Looming Behind Every Start

Even as Skubal locks in for a postseason run, the industry can't stop talking about what comes next. He's a pending free agent, and the contract projections are staggering. Insiders have floated figures ranging from $355 million to $400 million, with the Yankees, Mets, and Dodgers themselves all identified as potential suitors.

The Mets have been particularly vocal — or at least their interest has been loudly speculated — with analysts pointing to New York's need for a true staff ace and owner Steve Cohen's financial firepower as reasons to take their pursuit seriously. The Sporting News has outlined a path for the Mets to hold a competitive advantage over even the Dodgers in those negotiations, though nothing is close to settled.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have been floated as a $400 million dark horse. Whether any of that materializes depends largely on what Skubal does between now and a potential World Series ring — performances like Saturday's Game 1 start only drive the price higher.

For now, Skubal says his focus is on winning in October. Given the way he pitched against Atlanta, the rest of the league has good reason to be worried about that goal being achieved.

Also Noteworthy: Junk Gets His Work In

Down in Miami, fellow Seattle U alum Janson Junk made his own quiet contribution to the final week of the regular season. The Marlins right-hander went 4.2 innings against Atlanta on September 27, allowing one earned run while striking out five in a 5-3 Marlins win. It's a solid outing in a lost season for a Miami club already in offseason planning mode — but Junk showed enough to remain a name worth tracking heading into 2026.

The headline, though, belongs entirely to Skubal. A Seattle U alum is starting playoff games for the defending World Series champions, pitching for a contract that could approach nine figures annually. Not a bad week for the Redhawks' MLB alumni file.

When Tarik Skubal takes the mound in October, Seattle University will have its most compelling postseason storyline in MLB history. The Dodgers left-hander closed out his regular season with a statement: seven scoreless innings, 10 strikeouts, three hits allowed, and just 75 pitches against the San Francisco Giants on Friday — a performance so efficient it looked less like a tune-up than a warning shot to the rest of the playoff field.

The numbers behind that outing are staggering. Skubal finished the regular season with a 2.72 ERA and a 3.06 xERA over 158⅔ innings — elite marks for any pitcher, let alone one who was traded midseason. The Dodgers acquired him from Detroit on August 2, and in 10 starts with Los Angeles, he's given the reigning World Series champions the true ace they needed at the front of a postseason rotation.

The Week in Full

Skubal's final week wasn't without turbulence. On Sunday, September 20, he had his worst outing of the year against San Francisco — five innings, four earned runs, three strikeouts — in a game the Dodgers still won 10-4. He was visibly frustrated in the dugout afterward, a moment that went viral, though Skubal later explained the outburst as simple self-accountability. The rough outing was bookended by his Giants-series masterpiece five days later, underscoring just how quickly he recalibrated.

He'd also returned earlier in the week from the bereavement list, activated Wednesday with his Friday start already penciled in. The quick turnaround made the seven-inning gem all the more impressive.

The Offseason Elephant in the Room

Skubal is a free agent after this season, and the financial projections are eye-popping. Multiple insiders have pegged his market value at close to $500 million, with the Dodgers predicted to win what figures to be the most expensive pitching sweepstakes in baseball history — potentially a decade-long deal. For context: that would make him one of the highest-paid players in MLB history.

The Dodgers' incentive to retain him is obvious. The Tigers traded him knowing they were moving a generational arm; Los Angeles is now in a position to lock him up before any rival gets involved. The question isn't whether Skubal gets a historic contract — it's whether he signs it before or after lifting another World Series trophy.

Also in the Brief

Janson Junk, the Redhawks' other active MLB arm, had a quietly solid week for the Miami Marlins. The right-hander went five innings and struck out six in an 8-2 Marlins win over the Cubs on Tuesday, keeping a respectable 4.31 ERA intact for a Miami team with little postseason relevance. It's a steadying performance for a career reliever-turned-spot-starter navigating a rebuild.

For Seattle U, though, this week belongs entirely to Skubal. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has turned the final weeks of the regular season into a showcase — and October hasn't even started yet.

Tarik Skubal didn't just pitch well on Monday night in Cincinnati — he sent a message to the rest of the National League.

The Seattle University alum delivered seven scoreless innings against the Reds, striking out nine and allowing LA to clinch its 14th consecutive playoff berth with a 4-1 victory. It was, by multiple accounts, the best start of Skubal's tenure as a Dodger — and it arrived precisely when the calendar demands that kind of performance.

Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández provided the offensive muscle with home runs, but the night belonged to Skubal. His ERA sits at 2.70, and the Reds — who have now been swept in back-to-back series by Los Angeles — had no answer for the lefthander's arsenal.

The Dodgers are now 91-57 and just two games back of first place in the NL West. They've already clinched the division title for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons, and Skubal is increasingly central to their October blueprint. Sports Illustrated described him as "calibrated for October," noting that his arrival gives the Dodgers a rotation capable of recalling the pitching giants of postseasons past — an ambitious framing that doesn't feel like an overreach given the way he's throwing.

Since being acquired ahead of the trade deadline, the Dodgers have made subtle adjustments to Skubal's pitch selection on the mound — tweaks that appear to be paying off in the most important stretch of the season. With Blake Snell alongside him at the top of the rotation, the two-headed ace combination gives Los Angeles a genuine October weapon that most clubs can't match.

Skubal is also set to make his final regular-season home start Saturday night against the Giants, pitching on four days' rest for the second time in three outings — a workload pattern the organization is clearly comfortable with as it primes him for the postseason.

The Other Redhawks on Rosters

Skubal is the clear headliner, but Seattle U has two other alumni active in the majors. Janson Junk made an appearance for the Marlins on Wednesday, September 16, logging three innings against the Diamondbacks in a 4-2 loss. Junk gave up one earned run and struck out four, carrying a 4.50 ERA — serviceable work on a Miami team that has little to play for down the stretch.

Nestor Germán remains on the Orioles' roster, though no notable appearances fell within this week's window.

The week's headline, though, is all Skubal. The former Redhawk is pitching like a man who has been here before — composed, dominant, and unbothered by the stakes. For Seattle University, it's one of the most compelling alumni stories in college baseball's recent memory: a lefthander from a mid-major program now holding the rotation keys for the most decorated franchise in the sport's postseason era.

The Dodgers are going back to October. Skubal is leading them there.

Seattle University's Skubal Is the Most Dangerous Man in Baseball — On the Mound and in the Marketplace

Tarik Skubal is making the Dodgers look very smart, and this winter he could make them look very expensive.

The Seattle University product delivered his finest start yet in Dodger Blue on Tuesday, September 9, going 7.1 innings — the first time he's pitched into the eighth inning since joining Los Angeles — while allowing just two earned runs on five strikeouts in a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. The outing pushed the Dodgers' win streak to six games, matching their longest of the season, and reinforced what the baseball world already suspected: Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, is still very much elite.

His ERA sits at 2.84. His command was sharp enough that after exiting with one out in the eighth, LA needed only two relievers to close it out. Skubal himself noted the performance of standout reliever Edgardo Henríquez, who came on to navigate a loaded situation with the top of Cincinnati's order due up. The win was a team effort — Teoscar Hernández continued his torrid homestand and Will Smith added a solo shot — but Skubal was the engine.

The $490 Million Question

What happens this offseason is the story that will follow Skubal through every remaining start. ESPN's projection has floated a figure as high as $490 million, which would shatter the record for a contract signed by a pitcher in Major League Baseball history. Jeff Passan has called the expected deal "truly absurd." The Dodgers are the obvious frontrunners to re-sign him, but that may not be a foregone conclusion — reports indicate the path to keeping him in LA is getting more complicated, not less.

The Toronto Blue Jays have been floated as a potential suitor. The New York Mets appear to be priced out, with one report putting their realistic ceiling well below market. Skubal enters free agency as the consensus No. 1 available player — and arguably the best starting pitcher to hit the open market since Gerrit Cole in 2019.

For Redhawks alumni tracking the storyline: Skubal was traded to Los Angeles from Detroit earlier this season as part of a blockbuster that sent outfielder Zyhir Hope and pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith to the Tigers. He's thrived in the move, and now stands to reset the pitcher market entirely when the offseason begins.

Marlins Roughed Up Junk in Forgettable Outing

Elsewhere, fellow Seattle U alum Janson Junk had a week to forget. The Marlins right-hander lasted just 3.0 innings against the Mets on September 9, surrendering eight earned runs in an outing that bumped his ERA to 4.54. Miami has been one of baseball's most difficult situations for any pitcher this season, and Junk's line reflects that reality.

No stats were recorded this period for Orioles pitcher Nestor German.

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The week belonged entirely to Skubal — and if the projections hold, so might the entire offseason. Seattle University hasn't produced many MLB arms, but it only takes one Cy Young winner to change your alumni section's entire vibe.