{"id":151262,"date":"2025-08-16T19:29:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T19:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/151262\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T19:29:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T19:29:11","slug":"detroit-tigers-dillon-dingler-reveals-what-its-like-catching-tarik-skubal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/151262\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Tigers\u2019 Dillon Dingler reveals what it\u2019s like catching Tarik Skubal"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2014 One year ago, Jake Rogers caught every one of Tarik Skubal\u2019s outings. Skubal won the Cy Young Award and a pitching Triple Crown. He gifted his personal catcher a Rolex as a thank you.<\/p>\n

This year, Dillon Dingler has emerged as the Tigers\u2019 primary catcher. The 26-year-old entered Friday hitting .269 with a .740 OPS. He grades out well in blocking, framing and throwing. As Dingler has pushed his way into the lineup and continues to assert himself as a real piece of the Tigers\u2019 future, Skubal is working with both Dingler and Rogers this season.<\/p>\n

For a young player, catching for a Cy Young Award winner who only worked with one catcher last season might seem like a daunting challenge. But like with most things, Dingler has handled the transition with ease. Skubal has a 2.15 ERA in his first 20 outings with Dingler behind the plate. Thursday in Minneapolis, Skubal lacked his best stuff or command but still held the Twins to three earned runs over seven innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what it says about Dillon is how prepared he is,\u201d Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. \u201cDillon doesn\u2019t ever go in blind. He\u2019s not someone who approaches any game plan with Tarik or anybody else without an idea of what he\u2019s trying to do. He\u2019s not afraid to audible off of his plan, but there\u2019s a great presence. I wish I could bottle it up and give it to every catcher that we have in our system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hinch\u2019s praise continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresence matters,\u201d he said. \u201cBody language matters. The tone in which you receive information or you give information is super important. I think he\u2019s earned that. You have to earn that as a young catcher.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tarik Skubal in 2025<\/p>\nCatcherGamesInningsERA<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

20<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

130<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2.15<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n

4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

22.1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

4.03<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Skubal has known Rogers since they were friends at the alternate training site in 2020. But Skubal, too, has adapted well to working with Dingler in addition to Rogers this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat it says about Tarik is that he\u2019s an incredible teammate to help a young catcher believe in himself,\u201d Hinch said. \u201cIt would have been really easy for Tarik to demand things or expect things coming off of that season last year. He\u2019s been nothing but supportive, whether I put him with Ding or whether I put him with Rog or any combination.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what is it actually like catching the reigning Cy Young Award winner \u2014 a pitcher known for ferocity and emotion on the mound \u2014 in your first full big-league season?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s hear more from Dingler.<\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0Conversation has been edited for clarity and length.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re pretty deep into catching Tarik now. But when you were first starting this spring, how did you go about building trust?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel like the trust was already there. It was more so just learning what he likes to do. Of course, that\u2019s going to be more than a couple of outings. It\u2019s built over a season. We\u2019re in a good spot. We\u2019ve figured out what works. Just picking it up as we go, almost. It\u2019s one of those things where you have a game plan going into the game, and he\u2019s so good at adjusting on the fly. We talk to (Chris Fetter) between innings, see what the other team is doing, and we can create an in-game scouting report from that, too. So it\u2019s pretty unique.<\/p>\n

I would imagine every guy is a little bit different in how they like to prepare. What is he like when you\u2019re going over everything pregame?<\/strong><\/p>\n

He does a good job of looking at the hitters. But we obviously know what he does well, and we stick to his strengths because, oftentimes, they\u2019re going to be better than other people\u2019s. So it\u2019s pick and choose, but we keep his strengths in mind, whether it be to light up the fastball a little bit more, or fastball-change, or if we have to spin a team a little bit more. We know what he does well. Without going all the way into it, we know what he likes to do, and just try to have a little bit of leeway on the fly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal has a 2.15 ERA in his first 20 outings with Dillon Dingler behind the plate. (Jesse Johnson \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

You said the trust was already there. Was that through previous experience in spring training or bullpens? Or something else?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Obviously, it wasn\u2019t completely there. You have to have a few outings with a guy before you feel comfortable, especially from his end. I was a guy who just got up. I feel like it\u2019s definitely better now than it\u2019s ever been. We have full trust in each other now. We have constant communication to make sure that if he sees something or he wants something, he can get it, and there\u2019s no hard feelings. You try not to have an ego about anything with anyone in this room because hitters can see different things. Pitchers can see different things than hitters when they\u2019re throwing. I can see different things behind the plate.<\/p>\n

So was there ever a moment or a pitch where it was like, \u201cAll right, we\u2019re in sync,\u201d or \u201cAll right, he definitely fully trusts me\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure there\u2019s a handful every game. It\u2019s funny. Maybe it\u2019s his curveball, like his fourth pitch or fifth pitch. So maybe it\u2019s burying a curveball, but we know it\u2019s gonna work. There are certain things that are off the wall or out there where it\u2019s like, \u201cBut this would work.\u201d<\/p>\n

And we have seen you guys be pretty creative at times.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It would probably be a situation with nobody on. Obviously, we\u2019re gonna stick to our strengths in tight situations. But it\u2019s things like that.<\/p>\n

Dillon Dingler defensive metrics<\/p>\nStatBlocks above avgCS above avgFraming runsDefensive run value<\/tr>\n\n\n

Value<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

11<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n

MLB percentile<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

95<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

75<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

96<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

97<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

He\u2019s pretty good every time out. But is there any sort of tell, or do you know when he\u2019s really dialed in?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel like it\u2019s the same product every time he goes out there. I don\u2019t really notice anything different. Maybe it\u2019s just the overall intensity from a big game. He\u2019s pitched in a few big games already this year, and it just feels different. Everybody is rising to the occasion, and he\u2019s rising to the occasion. He\u2019s getting really fired up.<\/p>\n

People have talked about his intensity since probably the first time he pitched in this organization. When did you realize, \u201cOK, this guy is a real competitor\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year, when I got up and was able to see his starts. I was watching him from the dugout. The movement, the intensity, him firing up the crowd after getting out of a big spot or finishing an outing. It\u2019s a lot of emotion. It\u2019s hard to do. I\u2019m not sure I could do it. But he\u2019s the best at it.<\/p>\n

We see how he is in here before a start. It\u2019s pretty normal. In the dugout between innings, what\u2019s his demeanor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Same thing. But I think when he crosses that line, he becomes who he is out there.<\/p>\n

So did you ever have a time where it was like, \u201cOK, this is why he\u2019s the Cy Young winner\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s ultimately an accumulation of everything. Him going out there every single time and doing the same thing over and over and over again. And you think maybe it\u2019s going to be different. Maybe you think hitters are going to be on certain things. And it\u2019s just, no matter what they\u2019re doing, he\u2019s got an answer for it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a great point. Every guy in here has had really good outings. The best do it every time out. And that\u2019s probably the hardest thing to do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. And that\u2019s why he\u2019s as good as he is.<\/p>\n

What else have you learned from working with him?<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019s not stuck in his ways. He\u2019s willing to adapt. He\u2019s willing to go off script sometimes. But ultimately, he\u2019s got some of the best weapons to where he can pretty much pitch however he wants to. It makes my job a lot easier, and it makes it a whole hell of a lot more fun.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s been the story of his career, too. He was really good coming up. But the pitcher he is now and the pitcher he was in 2021 are totally different. The way he uses his stuff is totally different.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Completely. So it\u2019s pretty cool how it\u2019s altered. Or evolved, more so.<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Stacy Revere \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2014 One year ago, Jake Rogers caught every one of Tarik Skubal\u2019s outings. Skubal won the Cy…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":151263,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1885,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-151262","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-detroit-tigers","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115040103061724911","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}