KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tarik Skubal and Cole Ragans, a pair of Opening Day starters, are looking forward to pitching against each other in Wednesday's game between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

It's a battle of the best left-handed pitchers in the American League.

They're two of the best pitchers in baseball right now.

"It's hard not to see what he's done," Ragans said. "He's a pretty special player and obviously an incredible pitcher. What I've seen, you see it on TV and stuff like that, he's incredible. He's got incredible stuff. I've seen videos, clips, interviews, all that kind of stuff. He's unbelievable."

"He burst onto the scene last year," Skubal said. "He throws hard. He's got good spin. He's got good feel. He's got a good changeup. It's way off the heater. He competes. He looks like he's always in competition mode out there. Nothing but respect in that aspect. He's really good."

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The southpaws — Skubal for the Tigers and Ragans for the Royals — share a deep respect for each other because game respects game. They're both really good at their jobs. Skubal and Ragans don't know each other personally, but they've watched a lot of film to learn about each other on the mound.

"I mean, what doesn't stand out?" Ragans said.

Skubal has a 1.80 ERA with eight walks and 66 strikeouts across 55 innings in nine starts for the Tigers; Ragans has a 3.70 ERA with 18 walks and 64 strikeouts across 56 innings in 10 starts for the Royals.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is looking forward to Wednesday's game, as well.

"I halfway look forward to it," Hinch said. "It's way better to pitch Skubal than it is to face Ragans, but I think it's good when guys line up against each other like that, especially two power left-handed pitchers who have established themselves as guys you circle on the schedule when you know you're facing them. I'm sure it'll be a fun matchup between the two of them. He's a tough matchup, just like our guy is."

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Skubal plans to meet Ragans for the first time this week.

He wants to talk shop.

"I love his cutter-slider thing," Skubal said. "I love that. He's got great metrics, too. Whenever he's pitching against us, I'll be on the iPad watching his metrics and spin rates and all that stuff. I like his slider a lot."

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Skubal and Ragans attack opposing teams in similar ways, both using power fastballs and wipeout changeups, but their mechanics are different. The way Ragans throws looks like 15-year MLB veteran and four-time All-Star Cole Hamels, bringing his arms and glove over his head while raising his leg, whereas Skubal keeps his arms and glove in front of his chest while raising his leg.

Both lefties create high-end velocity with their fastballs.

Both lefties love their changeups.

"He uses his changeup, and I use my changeup," Ragans said. "We have a similar repertoire, I guess you could say, with the fastball, changeup, slider and curveball. He's got a sinker, as well, that he uses. He's got really good stuff."

There are 126 qualified MLB pitchers this season.

Skubal ranks sixth with a 96.6 mph fastball average and Ragans ranks 12th with a 92.6 mph fastball average. Also, Skubal ranks fifth with a 31.9% whiff rate and Ragans ranks 10th with a 31.2% whiff rate.

The biggest difference between them: Skubal is much better at limiting walks, exemplified by his 3.8% walk rate compared to Ragans' 7.8% walk rate. The walk rate, a product of command, is one of many reasons why Skubal — not Ragans — is the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young award.

"He's been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year," Ragans said.

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Both Skubal and Ragans are pumped up for Wednesday's game. They're well aware it's an epic battle between two of the best left-handers in the game, but they won't let the starting pitcher matchup distract them from the matchups with the batters that will determine the scoreboard.

"Last time I checked, Cole isn't standing in the box," Skubal said. "I need to compete against the other nine guys that are going to be in the box."

They're competing to win the game, not the matchup.

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"My goal remains the same, to give our team a chance to win that day," Skubal said. "You can get caught up in that stuff and try to do too much, and it'll end up biting you in the ass. I try to stay with the same goal every time out, and then whatever happens, happens, but it'll be fun."

"I'm going to pitch my game," Ragans said. "I'm not going to try to overdo it. He's had a lot of success, and he's a really good pitcher, so I'm not going to try to change anything. I'm going to try to pitch my game, and we'll see where it goes. It should be fun."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal in elite pitching matchup vs. Cole Ragans