Ranking MLB Opening Day starting pitchers

Opening Day usually features the best a team has to offer in its starting rotation. Although there are some big names who won’t take the mound to start the 2024 MLB season, we will rank the pitchers that each team has tabbed as their Opening Day starter. All statistics are sourced from Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.

Great pitchers and the Colorado Rockies aren’t usually used in the same sentence. MLB’s website noted the struggles that Freeland has had since signing a five-year contract. Purple Row stated that his fastball velocity notably dipped in 2023, which contributed to his ineffectiveness a year ago.

The White Sox are allowing Crochet to make his first MLB start ever on Opening Day. He’s pitched in 72 career games for Chicago over three seasons, but all out of the bullpen. For what it’s worth, Crochet has performed well in that role, logging a 2.71 career ERA. It’ll be interesting to see if he changes up his game plan now that he’s on the hill early on.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

The Red Sox believe that Bello can be an anchor of the rotation for the rest of the decade. He was signed to a six-year extension this month, locking him in until 2029. Bleacher Report noted that Bello is the first homegrown pitcher to start on Opening Day for Boston since Clay Buchholz back in 2015.

Gray had something of a breakout campaign in 2023, as he was named to the National League All-Star team. He pitched to a 3.91 ERA, and had by far his best professional campaign. Time will tell if Gray can keep that type of production up, but he certainly seems to put all of thought into his craft. The Washington Post did a feature on Gray and his penchant for tinkering with different pitches.

Ragans has a similar career track as Gray so far. 2023 was a much improved campaign for him, especially when he changed scenery in the middle of the season. He had a 2.64 ERA with the Royals in 12 starts down the stretch. Sports Illustrated said that a scout once compared Ragans to Jacob DeGrom, which is obviously high praise.

Montas battled ineffectiveness and injury during his stint with the New York Yankees, and is seeking a fresh start in Cincinnati. He looks to be healthy after missing nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury. “When this game gets taken away from you, you miss it,” Montas told Yahoo Sports. The 31 year-old is looking to pitch more like he did when he was with the Oakland Athletics.

The Athletics are in rebuild mode, and are looking to get through the 2024 season without getting severely embarrassed. Wood is an experienced middle of the rotation starter, who is better served as a complimentary piece. However, this is what Wood wanted, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported that he desired more of an opportunity as a front-end starter.

Not much is expected from the Angels this season, but Sandoval has the first crack at proving doubters wrong. He told Sports Illustrated that his personal goal for the 2024 campaign will be to maximize efficiency. In his eyes, that means getting outs by utilizing as few pitches as possible. Expect Sandoval to pound the strike zone against the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day.

Kodai Senga was supposed to start the first game for the Mets, but the Opening Day nod will instead go to Quintana. The veteran is looking to endear himself to the New York faithful with a full season of production. He was only able to pitch in 13 games last season as his tenure with the team got off to a slow start due to injury.

In his age 27 season, Keller stepped up for the Pirates. He made the All-Star team, and took the ball 32 times in 2023. The pitcher was financially rewarded by Pittsburgh this offseason, as he signed a $77 million contract over five years. He also got a signing bonus of just over $2 million, according to AP News.

The Yankees are going to hope the rest of their rotation can perform while reigning American Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole is sidelined. Cortes has been a reliable pitcher for New York, and will take the ball against the hard-hitting Houston Astros on Opening Day. Perhaps the most important thing is that Cortes seems to have exited spring training without discomfort, according to the New York Post.

Peralta has spent his entire six-year career with the Brewers, and has some big shoes to fill. Milwaukee traded ace Corbin Burnes away this offseason, leaving a ton of responsibility on Peralta’s shoulders. He may not offer the same type of upside, but Peralta has been extremely solid for Milwaukee.

The Twins traded away a potential perennial batting title winner in Luis Arraez in order to get Lopez, but they have to be happy with his performance thus far. He pitched 194 innings with a 3.66 ERA in his first year in Minnesota. The Twins are hoping the best is yet to come for Lopez, who is moving up in the rotation after the team lost Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray this offseason.

Berrios has had a roller coaster of a career. He made the All-Star team twice as a member of the Minnesota Twins early in his career. Despite being durable in 2022 with Toronto, he also conceded the most hits and earned runs in the American League. Berrios was durable again in 2023 and pitched much more effectively for the Blue Jays.

Mikolas led all of MLB in starts a year ago, taking the ball 35 times for a struggling Cardinals team. That’s an impressive feat on a last-place club, although Mikolas is hoping for better fortunes both personally and for his team. The Opening Day nod was supposed to go to Sonny Gray, but he won’t be available due to injury.

Based on his improvement in each of the last three seasons, there’s a chance that Skubal emerges as one of the best pitchers in all of baseball in 2024. ClutchPoints believes that Skubal has superstar potential, while Forbes is also high on the young lefty. He seems like a great bet to make his first All-Star team.

Luzardo is going to be part of a unique Marlins starting pitching rotation. The Miami Herald pointed out that the Marlins’ four lefty rotation might be historic. The piece states that only four teams in MLB history have had four left-handed pitchers make at least 20 starts in a season. After getting roughed up early in his career, Luzardo had found his stride in the last couple of years.

Eflin was a solid pitcher during his time with the Philadelphia Phillies, but took his game to a whole new level with the Rays in 2023. He won the most games in the American League with 16 a year ago, and set a career best ERA figure at 3.50. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Eflin is taking more of a leadership role in his second campaign with the club.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Since the Dodgers technically already opened the season in South Korea, this is more of a lookback at Glasnow’s start against San Diego. He went five innings, giving up two earned runs. He also conceded four walks, which is something that he’ll look to clean up in his next start. This is Glasnow’s first year with Los Angeles.

Steele had a magnificent 2023 campaign, finishing sixth in National League Cy Young voting. It seems like his availability for Opening Day won’t be affected by a comebacker that struck him in his final spring training start. Chicago is hoping that Steele can be the presence at the top of the rotation that gets the team back into the postseason.

ESPN noted this is the fifth consecutive season that Bieber will start for the Guardians on Opening Day. That’s with good reason, as the hurler has an impressive list of accomplishments, and he’s still just 28 years old. MLB’s website believes that Bieber can revert back to the dominant form he displayed a couple of years ago.

He was a decent pitcher earlier in his career, but Eovaldi has morphed into a big game performer in his thirties. He was a key part of the Rangers’ run to a World Series title last fall, and enters this season as an important cog once again. The Rangers are dealing with major injuries to their rotation, so it’ll be up to Eovaldi and others to hold down the fort.

Darvish took the ball for San Diego against the Dodgers in South Korea. It wasn’t the best performance, as he only lasted 3.2 innings. It seemed like he was still fine-tuning his repertoire, but the veteran should be fine moving forward. The Padres added Dylan Cease to the rotation this spring, which might even take some pressure off Darvish in 2024.

Castillo looks every bit the part of an overpowering ace for the Mariners. He finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting, as the right hander took Seattle to within a game of the postseason. Sports Illustrated believes that Castillo might break through in 2024 to win his first career Cy Young.

Gallen is excited to be the face of a rotation for a team that expects to contend for years to come. Gallen told The Players Tribune, “it’s a whole new era of D’Backs baseball, as far as I’m concerned.” The hurler was instrumental in Arizona’s run to a World Series appearance in 2023, and could make a run for National League Cy Young.

The Phillies inked Wheeler to a three-year, $126 million extension this spring, proving that they value his contributions during the last four years. Philadelphia made the shrewd move of brining Wheeler in before the 2020 season after the Mets didn’t want to resign him, and it’s definitely paid off.

Webb hasn’t had a strong exhibition season, but his track record suggests he’ll be just fine once the real games begin. Webb has pitched to a 3.25 ERA or less in each of the last three seasons, while also taking the ball a minimum of 26 times during that stretch. He’ll form a potent tandem with Blake Snell, whom the Giants signed during the spring.

Burnes has the chance to be the most impactful offseason addition in MLB this season. Yes, the Orioles won over 100 games in 2023, but it never felt like they were a serious World Series contender. With Burnes leading the rotation, Baltimore’s prospects just jumped significantly. The Washington Post noted that the team “got a monster” in a good way this offseason.

Valdez has a frightening array of put-out pitches. Forbes noted that while he’s known for his sinker and his curveball, he also has a strong cutter. The lefty has a tough Opening Day assignment against the Yankees, but Valdez has made it a habit to perform well when the lights are shining brightest. He pitched a no-hitter last August as well.

Forbes noted that Strider’s slider is the best in the game, as the pitch misses bats at an astounding rate. New England Sports Network also openly discussed whether Strider is the best pitcher in MLB right now. It’s all come together quickly for the 25-year-old, who led MLB in total strikeouts in 2023.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!