TBA. Madison Bumgarner has started the last three Opening Days for the Diamondbacks, though Zac Gallen has certainly positioned himself to get the assignment this year. He finished fifth in the Cy Young voting and had a 44 1/3-inning scoreless streak last season, the seventh longest such streak in history. The D-Backs will visit the NL West rival Dodgers on Opening Day.
TBA. Cy Young runner-up Max Fried has started the last two season openers and it stands to reason he'll again get the ball on Opening Day this year. Really, the Braves can't go wrong with Fried, Charlie Morton, Spencer Strider, or Kyle Wright. They're all worthy. Atlanta opens the season in Washington.
TBA. John Means, the Orioles' Opening Day starter the last two years, is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, so someone else will get the nod this year. One of Kyle Gibson or Cole Irvin, the club's two veteran hurlers, would seem to be the pick to start Game 1. The O's will begin the season in Boston.
RHP Corey Kluber. Kluber, not Chris Sale, will start Opening Day, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced on March 15. There's no shame in giving the ball to a two-time Cy Young winner to begin the new season. Nathan Eovaldi started the last three season openers for Boston. The Red Sox launch the new season at home against the Orioles.
TBA. Kyle Hendricks is working his way back from a shoulder injury and is expected to start the season on the injured list, meaning someone else will start Opening Day for the Cubs for the first time in four years. Marcus Stroman is the odds-on favorite to get the nod. Chicago will host the Brewers to begin the season.
TBA. Lucas Giolito has started the last three Opening Days for the White Sox, but it stands to reason Dylan Cease will get the ball in Game 1 this year. He pitched to a 2.20 ERA and was the Cy Young runner-up in 2022. Chicago will begin their season against the defending World Series champions in Houston.
RHP Hunter Greene. The question was "which" second year pitcher would start Opening Day for the Reds, not "if" they would start a second year pitcher on Opening Day. On March 9, the team announced Greene will start Game 1 over lefty Nick Lodolo. At 23 years and 236 days, Greene will be Cincinnati's youngest Opening Day starter since 22-year-old Frank Pastore in 1980. The Reds have not had a pitcher start consecutive Opening Days since Johnny Cueto started four straight from 2012-15. They will be home against the Pirates on Opening Day.
RHP Shane Bieber. No surprise here. The Guardians announced on March 4 they will give the ball to Bieber, the 2020 Cy Young winner, for the fourth consecutive Opening Day. He finished seventh in the Cy Young voting in 2022. Cleveland will be in Seattle to start the season.
TBA. Kyle Freeland and Germán Márquez have each started two of the last four Opening Days. Freeland performed better than Márquez last season, so it stands to reason the Rockies will give him the ball in the season opener this year. The Rockies will start their season in San Diego.
TBA. Last year Eduardo Rodriguez, the Tigers' big offseason pitching addition, started Opening Day. It seems likely he will get the assignment again this year, though Matthew Boyd returned to Detroit as a free agent this offseason. He started their season opener in 2020 and 2021, and could be a legacy pick. The Tigers visit the Rays to open 2023.
TBA. Framber Valdez, not Justin Verlander, started Opening Day for the Astros last season. Verlander went on to win the Cy Young, though he left as a free agent, clearing the way for Valdez to start Game 1 again in 2023. The defending World Series champs will host the White Sox on Opening Day.
TBA. Zack Greinke started Opening Day for the Royals last season, more a decade after he made his first Opening Day start for the franchise. He returned to the club on a new one-year contract this offseason and is as good a bet as anyone to start Opening Day. Brady Singer had a breakout season a year ago and could be the pick should Kansas City decide to look toward the future. The Royals well welcome the Twins to Kansas City on Opening Day.
RHP Shohei Ohtani. On Feb. 16, the Angels became the first team to announce their Opening Day starter. It'll again be Ohtani, who also started Game 1 in 2022. The two-way megastar finished second in the MVP voting and fourth in the Cy Young voting a year ago. Ohtani will be the first Halos pitcher to start consecutive Opening Days since Jered Weaver started six straight from 2010-15. The Angels will start their season in Oakland for the fifth time in the last seven years.
TBA. Believe it or not, the Dodgers have had four different Opening Day starters in the last four years: Walker Buehler (2022), Clayton Kershaw (2021), Dustin May (2020), and Hyun-Jin Ryu (2019). Kershaw was healthy last Opening Day, but the Dodgers opted to give Buehler the start instead. Buehler will miss the season with Tommy John surgery, making Julio Urías the logical non-Kershaw candidate. Urías finished third in the Cy Young voting a year ago. The Dodgers will be at home against the D-Backs to kick off 2023.
TBA. Sandy Alcantara has started the last three Opening Days and there's no reason to think the Marlins will start anyone other than the reigning Cy Young winner in Game 1 this year. Alcantara's fourth Opening Day start would set a new franchise record, breaking a tie with Josh Beckett and Josh Johnson. The Marlins will host the Mets to begin 2023.
TBA. Corbin Burnes may have some bad feelings toward the Brewers after their arbitration hearing, though the 2021 Cy Young winner started the season opener last year and figures to get the nod again this year. Brandon Woodruff, who started Game 1 in 2020 and 2021, would be the alternative. Milwaukee opens the season in Chicago against the Cubs.
TBA. Last season, rookie Joe Ryan became the third pitcher in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to make an Opening Day start within his first six career starts, joining José Guzman (1986 Rangers) and Steve Busby (1973 Royals). The Twins could give the ball to Ryan again, though veterans Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, and Pablo López are worthy candidates as well. Minnesota opens their season in Kansas City.
RHP Max Scherzer. The Mets have two excellent Opening Day starter candidates in Scherzer and Justin Verlander, and they are giving each a moment in the spotlight. Scherzer will start Opening Day and Verlander will start the team's home opener on April 6, reports the New York Post. This will be Scherzer's seventh career Opening Day start. The Mets will visit Miami to start the new season.
RHP Gerrit Cole. On March 5, manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees plan to start Gerrit Cole on Opening Day. This will be Cole's fourth consecutive Opening Day start with New York and his fifth career Opening Day start overall. He of course has the largest pitcher contract in baseball history. The Yankees will host the Giants on the first day of the year.
TBA. The Athletics have gutted their roster the last 18 months or so and five of their last six Opening Day starters are now in other organizations (the sixth, Mike Fiers, is retired). Paul Blackburn is coming back from a finger injury and is expected to be ready for the start of the season. He was Oakland's representative in the All-Star Game last year and is as good a pick as anyone to start the year. The A's will host the Angels on Opening Day for the fifth time in the last seven years.
TBA. Aaron Nola has started the last five Opening Days for the Phillies, the franchise's longest streak of Opening Day starts since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton started 10 straight from 1977-86. Zack Wheeler is the alternative. He was Philadelphia's Game 1 starter in the Wild Card Series and NLCS last year. The Phillies open their season in Texas.
RHP Mitch Keller. The Pirates announced Keller will start Opening Day with a neat video showing Keller being informed of the decision on March 15. He will be Pittsburgh's eighth different Opening Day starter in the last eight years. The last Pirate to start consecutive Opening Days was Francisco Liriano from 2013-15. Keller quietly broke out in the second half last year, pitching to a 2.71 ERA in his final 15 starts. The Pirates open the season in Cincinnati.
TBA. The bet here is Adam Wainwright will get the Opening Day assignment in his farewell season. It would be his second straight Opening Day start and seventh overall. Miles Mikolas stands out as the alternative should St. Louis go in another direction. The Cardinals will host the Blue Jays in a bird-themed Opening Day.
TBA. Yu Darvish has started the last two Opening Days and he has a brand new six-year contract extension, so expect the Padres to give him the ball to start this season as well. If not Darvish, giving the ball to hometown San Diego guy Joe Musgrove would be very cool. The Padres will be home against the Rockies on Opening Day.
RHP Logan Webb. Webb has emerged as one of the game's top pitchers thanks in part to his pre-2021 decision to emphasize the sinker and slider. According to Sarah Langs, Webb becomes the first Giants moundsman to make consecutive Opening Day starts since Madison Bumgarner earned four straight nods from 2014-17. The Giants will visit the Yankees to start 2023.
TBA. The Mariners aren't lacking Opening Day options. Robbie Ray is a Cy Young winner, Luis Castillo is a bona fide ace, and Marco Gonzales has three Opening Day starts under his belt. Castillo got the ball over Ray in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series last year and smart money is on him getting the ball over Ray again on Opening Day this season. The Mariners will host the Guardians on Opening Day.
TBA. For much of last season Shane McClanahan was a legitimate Cy Young candidate, if not the favorite, before fading a bit in the second half. For our purposes, he should be considered the favorite to start Opening Day for the second straight year. Tyler Glasnow, who returned from Tommy John surgery last September, started Opening Day for the Rays in 2021 and could get the ball again. Tampa will host the Tigers on Opening Day.
TBA. Unless they start Jon Gray again, the Rangers will use their 15th different Opening Day starter in the last 15 years this season. The last Texas starter to start consecutive openers was Kevin Millwood from 2006-09. As long as Jacob deGrom is healthy, expect him to be on the mound in Game 1. If deGrom is unable to go for whatever reason, 2022 All-Star Martín Pérez figures to have a leg up on Gray and Nathan Eovaldi. The Rangers will be home against the Phillies on Opening Day.
TBA. The Blue Jays have two excellent Opening Day starter candidates in Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman. They both received Cy Young votes last season, though Manoah finished third in the voting and Gausman ninth. Manoah also got the ball in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, so I'd say he has an advantage on this year's Opening Day assignment. José Berríos started the opener for Toronto last year. The Blue Jays will visit St. Louis to start the new season.
TBA. Last year Patrick Corbin became the first pitcher other than Max Scherzer or Stephen Strasburg to start Opening Day for the Nationals since Livan Hernandez in 2011. Strasburg is still dealing with a nerve issue and it's unclear when he'll pitch again, if ever. Corbin is the high-priced veteran and could get the Game 1 start again. Josiah Gray and Trevor Williams could get the nod if Washington decides to start someone who hasn't been one of the worst pitchers in baseball the last three seasons. The Nationals will host the Braves to begin 2023.
