Mike Rabelo was like a lot of Tigers fans going into the season. Even the manager of the Double-A Erie SeaWolves didn¡¯t know a whole lot about Tarik Skubal -- until the left-hander joined his rotation this summer.

¡°I knew the name. I¡¯d never seen him throw,¡± Rabelo admitted recently. ¡°The first thing I said when I met him was, ¡®You better be Steve Carlton.¡¯ Because the coordinators and scouts and everybody would come through and say, ¡®Have you seen this Skubal guy?¡¯ Holy cow, they were dead-on. The first start he made, I believe it was [against] Altoona, he was cutting up that team. And then he did it again, and you¡¯re just like, ¡®Holy cow, this guy¡¯s the real deal.¡¯¡±

That¡¯s how most of Skubal¡¯s first full pro season went. It¡¯s also why, in a Detroit farm system that boasts former first-round Draft picks and highly regarded pitching prospects in Casey Mize and Matt Manning, it was Skubal who earned MLB Pipeline¡¯s honor as its Tigers Pitching Prospect of the Year.

Skubal¡¯s Erie teammate, infielder Isaac Paredes, was selected by MLB Pipeline as its Tigers Position Prospect of the Year. Both winners were chosen by MLB Pipeline staff; players had to spend at least half the season in the Minor Leagues and appear among MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 30 Tigers Prospects to be eligible for consideration.

While Skubal qualified, he wasn¡¯t exactly on the radar before the season, when he was ranked as the club¡¯s No. 20 prospect. The Tigers grabbed him in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft after he missed the 2017 season at Seattle University while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings of relief at Class A West Michigan at the end of last season, but nobody anticipated what he had in store for this year.

Nobody, maybe, except for Skubal himself, who felt he turned a corner in his post-surgery form last summer. He spent the offseason and then Spring Training building on it.

¡°I worked really hard to put myself in a good position,¡± he said last month. ¡°That's all I tried to do.¡±

Skubal added strength to his 6-foot-3 frame. He honed his offspeed pitches so that he¡¯d have a well-rounded arsenal to throw at hitters along with the fastball. And he worked on his lower-body strength and endurance to pitch deep into games.

¡°His lower half, he just looks like a Major Leaguer,¡± Rabelo said. ¡°His body, the way he¡¯s put together, he¡¯s a big dude. He works hard. He looks the part, and he is the part.¡±

The 22-year-old Skubal opened the season at Class A Advanced Lakeland and dominated, allowing just 62 hits over 80 1/3 innings with 19 walks and 97 strikeouts over 15 starts. He earned a midseason promotion to Erie in July, around the same time Mize went on the injured list with shoulder fatigue.

Skubal¡¯s numbers over nine Double-A starts amazed even Tigers officials: 42 1/3 innings, 25 hits, 18 walks and 82 strikeouts, a rate of 17.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

By season¡¯s end, not only had Skubal jumped to No. 4 prospect on the Tigers¡¯ list, but he had also cracked the overall MLB Pipeline Top 100, at No. 96.

¡°It¡¯s been a process, a journey,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not fully where I want to be, obviously, but just coming back and learning a lot about yourself, it¡¯s been fun to just enjoy the process.¡±

Compared to Skubal, Paredes entered the season with high regard as the Tigers¡¯ top position prospect, a title since taken by slugging outfielder and latest first-round Draft pick Riley Greene. Despite being one of the younger players in the Eastern League, the 20-year-old Paredes more than held his own, batting .282 (135-for-478) with 23 doubles, 13 home runs, 66 RBIs and a .784 OPS. All but one of his home runs came after June 1, including five in the final month.

More impressive was his plate discipline for a young power hitter. Despite his aggressive approach, he finished with almost as many walks (57) as strikeouts (61), resulting in a .368 on-base percentage. None of his free passes were intentional.

¡°He doesn¡¯t expand [his strike zone] very much,¡± Rabelo said of the Tigers¡¯ No. 5 prospect. ¡°He doesn¡¯t chase. [At one point,] it was 49-to-49 with [his] walks and strikeouts. With some pop, that¡¯s real good. That right there is why this kid is going to hit. He doesn¡¯t chase and he doesn¡¯t miss balls in the zone. He¡¯s put together a very solid year.¡±

Baseball isn¡¯t over yet for Paredes in 2019. He begins play this week in the Arizona Fall League as the Tigers¡¯ priority prospect, meaning he¡¯ll get significant playing time. And he¡¯ll be playing again for Rabelo, who is managing the Mesa Solar Sox.