MLB Opening Day is one of the best days of the year in the world of sports. All 30 teams have at least a semblance of hope, and perhaps more importantly, the best each club has to offer on the starting pitching front takes the ball (most of the time). This makes for better games.
Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Who every MLB team will have on the mound to start Opening Day.
- The Brewers and Twins are venturing into new territory, but with different levels of risk.
- The Athletics' and Cubs' ceiling could be determined by their pitching prowess.
With that being said, below is a list of each Opening Day starter and some things to take away from certain individuals who are lucky enough to take the ball.
Every MLB team's Opening Day starter
Team | Pitcher | Opponent | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Arizona Diamondbacks | Zac Gallen | at Dodgers | Thursday, March 26, 8:30 p.m. ET |
Athletics | Luis Severino | at Blue Jays | Friday, March 27, 7:07 p.m. ET |
Atlanta Braves | Chris Sale | vs. Royals | Friday, March 27, 7:15 p.m. ET |
Baltimore Orioles | Trevor Rogers | vs. Twins | Thursday, March 26, 3:05 p.m. ET |
Boston Red Sox | Garrett Crochet | at Reds | Thursday, March 26, 4:10 p.m. ET |
Chicago Cubs | Matthew Boyd | vs. Nationals | Thursday, March 26, 2:20 p.m. ET |
Chicago White Sox | Shane Smith | at Brewers | Thursday, March 26, 2:10 p.m. ET |
Cincinnati Reds | Andrew Abbott | vs. Red Sox | Thursday, March 26, 4:10 p.m. ET |
Cleveland Guardians | Tanner Bibee | at Mariners | Thursday, March 26, 10:10 p.m. ET |
Colorado Rockies | Kyle Freeland | at Marlins | Friday, March 27, 7:10 p.m. ET |
Detroit Tigers | Tarik Skubal | at Padres | Thursday, March 26, 4:10 p.m. ET |
Houston Astros | Hunter Brown | vs. Angels | Thursday, March 26, 4:10 p.m. ET |
Kansas City Royals | Cole Ragans | at Braves | Friday, March 27, 7:15 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Angels | Jose Soriano | at Astros | Thursday, March 26, 4:10 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Dodgers | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | vs. Diamondbacks | Thursday, March 26, 8:30 p.m. ET |
Miami Marlins | Sandy Alcantara | vs. Rockies | Friday, March 27, 7:10 p.m. ET |
Milwaukee Brewers | Jacob Misiorowski | vs. White Sox | Thursday, March 26, 2:10 p.m. ET |
Minnesota Twins | Joe Ryan | at Orioles | Thursday, March 26, 3:05 p.m. ET |
New York Mets | Freddy Peralta | vs. Pirates | Thursday, March 26, 1:15 p.m. ET |
New York Yankees | Max Fried | at Giants | Wednesday, March 25, 8:05 p.m. ET |
Philadelphia Phillies | Cristopher Sanchez | vs. Rangers | Thursday, March 26, 4:15 p.m. ET |
Pittsburgh Pirates | Paul Skenes | at Mets | Thursday, March 26, 1:15 p.m. ET |
San Diego Padres | TBD | vs. Tigers | Thursday, March 26, 4:10 p.m. ET |
San Francisco Giants | Logan Webb | vs. Yankees | Wednesday, March 25, 8:05 p.m. ET |
Seattle Mariners | Logan Gilbert | vs. Guardians | Thursday, March 26, 10:10 p.m. ET |
St. Louis Cardinals | Matthew Liberatore | vs. Rays | Thursday, March 26, 4:15 p.m. ET |
Tampa Bay Rays | Drew Rasmussen | at Cardinals | Thursday, March 26, 4:15 p.m. ET |
Texas Rangers | Nathan Eovaldi | at Phillies | Thursday, March 26, 4:15 p.m. ET |
Toronto Blue Jays | Kevin Gausman | vs. Athletics | Friday, March 27, 7:07 p.m. ET |
Washington Nationals | Cade Cavalli | at Cubs | Thursday, March 26, 2:20 p.m. ET |
Opening Day starter takeaways
Brewers are going to miss Freddy Peralta
Jacob Misiorowski is slated to take the ball for the Milwaukee Brewers against the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day. On one hand, it's very cool that a 23-year-old with just 66 regular season innings in the majors under his belt is talented enough to have earned this start. On the other hand, it's hard to ignore the fact that such an inexperienced starter is expected to lead this Brewers' rotation.
Sure, Misiorowski is probably only making this start because Brandon Woodruff only threw five innings this spring, but still - it's hard not to think that this Brewers' staff is not as strong as it traditionally is. There's a lot of potential, particularly with Misiorowski leading the way, but who from their projected rotation should be expected to make 30+ strong starts in the way Freddy Peralta consistently did?
I understand why the Brewers traded Peralta, and I liked the return they got, but it's really hard to replace consistent All-Star-caliber seasons of 30+ starts from an ace. Misiorowski can be that guy, but as of now, he is not.
Joe Ryan is auditioning for 29 other MLB teams
It's a bit surprising that Joe Ryan is still a member of the Minnesota Twins after the Twins orchestrated one of the biggest trade deadline sell-offs in recent memory, but he's their Opening Day starter. While it's obviously nice for Twins fans to see Ryan in a Minnesota uniform, it's hard not to see this start as an audition for the rest of the league.
The Twins are not in a position to compete right now, especially after Pablo Lopez suffered a season-ending injury. Knowing that Ryan is a free agent after the 2027 season, what better time to trade him than right now? Minnesota can get a haul of prospects for the All-Star as they continue to rebuild, and avoid the risk of Ryan getting hurt and losing a lot of his value, as is the case with Lopez.
A good performance against a loaded and deep Baltimore Orioles lineup can only boost his trade value, further emphasizing that it's a matter of when, not if, he's dealt.
Pitching is going to hold the Athletics back
The Athletics have one of the most talented lineups in all of baseball. Nick Kurtz took the league by storm, putting up one of the best rookie years in recent memory. Fellow rookie Jacob Wilson hit .311 and received down-ballot MVP votes while finishing right behind Kurtz in the Rookie of the Year balloting. Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers combined to hit 61 home runs. Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler combined for 46 long balls. Most of these players are young, and all of them have several years of control.
The fact that Luis Severino is starting on Opening Day, though, speaks to the state of their rotation. Severino has a solid track record and he did pitch well on the road last season, but he had a 4.54 ERA in 29 starts in his first season with the A's while publicly expressing his frustration with the conditions in Sacramento. He's really the best pitcher they have?
You can argue that Jeffrey Springs or a youngster like Luis Morales might be better, but I'm not so sure. Regardless, the A's have one of the worst Opening Day starters of the bunch, and one of the worst rotations in the league. They might score a lot of runs, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them give up even more, hurting their postseason odds.
Cubs rotation is full of question marks
The Chicago Cubs had an exciting offseason and are probably the favorites to win the NL Central division, but their rotation is far from perfect. It can be quite good, but Matthew Boyd being dubbed the Opening Day starter only emphasizes the clear question marks.
Boyd is coming off arguably his best big league season, but after an All-Star first half, he had a 4.63 ERA in the second half. He was rather unproductive for the Cubs down the stretch, yet he gets the ball. The reason why likely has to do with the fact that there isn't a perfect candidate.
Cade Horton is coming off a fantastic rookie year, but he's just 24 with a shade over 100 innings in his big league career. Shota Imanaga has been an All-Star in the past, but he's coming off a rough year, particularly when it came to keeping the ball in the ballpark. Edward Cabrera is coming off his best year, but 2025 was his first season with over 100 innings pitched and he's been remarkably inconsistent over the course of his career. As for Jameson Taillon, he's had a brutal spring training and is best suited for the back of the rotation.
Again, this rotation can be good. Perhaps Horton establishes himself as an ace. Perhaps Cabrera and Boyd repeat their breakouts. Perhaps Imanaga reverts to All-Star form. For now, though, there are lots of questions that need to be answered.
It's a new and glorious era in Houston with Hunter Brown leading the charge
It's strange to see the Houston Astros' Opening Day starter be someone other than Framber Valdez, given the fact that Valdez has started each of the last four season openers for Houston. As tough as it is for Astros fans to see Valdez in another uniform, knowing Hunter Brown is ready to take his place has to be a good feeling.
Brown came into his own in 2025, posting a 2.43 ERA in 31 starts and 185.1 innings of work. He struck out 206 batters while issuing only 57 walks. Brown's dominance not only earned him his first All-Star nod, but also resulted in him finishing as an AL Cy Young finalist.
It's easy to overlook Brown with guys like Paul Skenes, Garrett Crochet and Tarik Skubal in the league, but it's clear that he's one of the five or ten best starters in the sport. His first of likely many Opening Day starts is another chance for him to show that.