Andy Johnson
Baseball’s Opening Day is nearly upon us, and 30 starting pitchers are getting ready to take the mound in the first game of the season. Today, let’s rank every Opening Day starter ahead of the season’s first pitch.
Related: MLB Trade Candidates 2026: 8 Players Who Could Be Dealt This Season
The True Aces
- Tarik Skubal, Tigers
The reigning AL Cy-Young award winner is the best pitcher in baseball. Skubal has dominated the league for the past two seasons, and so far, there is no reason to think he will not do so again in 2026.
- Paul Skenes, Pirates
Despite being one of the youngest Opening Day starters, Skenes has an argument that he should be ranked No. 1. He won the NL Cy-Young award last year, and just tossed one of the most impressive starts of the World Baseball Classic. He shut down the Dominican Republic’s all-star-powered lineup, holding them to just one run in a Team USA semifinals win. Skenes has the ability to get through even the toughest of lineups, making him one of the best aces in the game.
- Garrett Crochet, Red Sox
The question surrounding Crochet last season was whether or not he’d be able to increase his workload. He did, throwing nearly 60 more innings in 2025 than he did in 2024. That, combined with a career-low 2.59 ERA, has launched Crochet into the conversation among the best pitchers in baseball.
- Logan Webb, Giants
Webb has been among the most reliable aces in the league for a while now, yet he still feels criminally underrated. In the last three years, he has finished second, sixth, and fourth in NL Cy-Young voting. He hasn’t missed a start since 2021, and he led the league with 224 strikeouts in 2025. Webb is among the best in the best, and his consistency might be his best quality.
- Max Fried, Yankees
When Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole return, Fried might not even be a top-two pitcher on his own team. But for now, he comes in fifth among the rest of the Opening Day starters, and he deserves it. The 32-year-old is a three-time all-star and three-time Cy Young finalist. He is coming off a season that saw him make 32 starts and post a 2.86 ERA. His 19 wins led the American League.
- Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies
Sanchez had a career year in 2025. He led all pitchers with 8.0 bWAR, posting a 2.50 ERA in 202 innings. That led the 28-year-old to receive MVP votes and helped him earn a spot as the ace of the Dominican Republic in the WBC. He’s now the ace of the Phillies as well, clearly the most talented member of a very strong rotation. A rotation that also features Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Jesus Luzardo.
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
In his first 48 big league starts, Yamamoto has put together a 19-10 record, a 2.66 ERA, and accumulated 6.8 bWAR. That alone would be enough to prove he was worth all the hype coming out of Japan, but Yamamoto’s biggest moment did not come in the regular season. It came in the 2025 World Series, when the Dodgers’ starter was named MVP for his clutch Game 6 performance and his Game 7 heroics. He had a 1.45 ERA in 37.1 postseason innings for Los Angeles.
- Chris Sale, Braves
Between 2019 and 2023, Sale only managed to make 56 starts over five seasons, with a 4.16 ERA and 4.7 bWAR. Then in 2024, his first season with the Braves, he shocked the baseball world, coming back to full strength and winning his first Cy-Young award, posting a 2.38 ERA in 29 starts. Last year, Sale was once again limited to just 20 starts, but he was good in those starts, with a 2.50 ERA and 4.0 bWAR. Now going into his age-37 season, it would not shock anyone to see Sale take a step back in 2026. If he doesn’t take a step back, he’s probably ranked too low, because a healthy Sale is among the best pitchers in baseball.
Reliable stars
- Freddy Peralta, Mets
The Mets brought in Peralta to be their new ace, and he will instantly get his opportunity to prove himself on Opening Day. He posted a career low 2.70 ERA in 32 starts with Milwaukee last year, and has been one of the most reliable starters in baseball over the last five years.
- Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers
After a very tumultuous start to his career, Eovaldi has emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball since 2020. Sure, he hasn’t made it through a full season without missing time in 2021, but when Eovaldi is healthy, he is close to elite. He holds a 3.42 ERA in his last 137 starts, with 16.4 bWAR and 777 strikeouts. He’s earned a pair of all-star nods and emerged as the frontrunner in a Rangers rotation that also includes Jacob DeGrom.
- Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays
This will be Gausman’s fifth season in Toronto, so it feels odd that this is the first time he’s earned the Opening Day nod for the Blue Jays. He’s certainly earned it, with a 3.48 ERA across his 125 starts in Toronto. While he’s never managed to match his 2021 campaign in San Francisco, he’s become one of the most consistent starters in baseball over the past five years.
- Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks
If these rankings were based purely on 2025 performance, Gallen would not crack the top 20. The good news for the former Cy-Young contender is that he was once one of the best pitchers in the league, and could be due for a bounce-back. He posted a 3.20 ERA in 93 starts between 2022 and 2024, but had the worst season of his career in 2025, with a 4.83 ERA in 33 starts. Gallen almost certainly will not be worse, but could he get back to his all-star form? If he does, Gallen can easily climb back into the top ten aces in the league.
- Nick Pivetta, Padres
Pivetta had a career year in San Diego and was named an Opening Day starter for the first time in his career. It feels unlikely that Pivetta can repeat his 2.87 ERA and 0.985 WHIP from 2025, considering his career averages (4.47 ERA and 1.267 WHIP) are significantly lower. However, even if Pivetta can give the Padres 30 starts of six-inning, two-run baseball, his season will be successful.
- Hunter Brown, Astros
Brown was awful in 2023, decent in 2024, and elite in 2025. Perhaps the young Astros’ ace should be ranked higher, after coming in third place in AL Cy-Young voting last year. He probably needs one more elite year to prove himself as one of the true upper-echelon starters in baseball, but Brown is halfway there. With Framber Valdez now in Detroit, Brown takes over as the true leader of the Houston rotation, and at 27 years old, it’s unlikely that we’ve seen him at his best.
- Logan Gilbert, Mariners
Gilbert is the anchor of a very talented Seattle rotation. He was an all-star in 2024, and while he took a small step back in 2025, Gilbert is still among the most productive starters in the league. His ability to strike out batters at an elite clip has been his biggest strength. Over the past four years, he has 756 strikeouts in 716 innings.
- Drew Rasmussen, Rays
If you haven’t been paying much attention to the Rays’ pitching staff over the past few years, you’ve probably missed Rasmussen’s ascension to become the club’s ace. A rotation that has produced plenty of great arms, such as Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell, is now led by the 30-year-old all-star Rasmussen. Rasmussen has only been a full-time starter during two seasons, in 2022 when he finished with a 2.84 ERA and 3.1 bWAR, and 2025, when he finished with a 2.76 ERA and 4.4 bWAR. His weakness is that he doesn’t throw nearly as many innings as most other aces (only 146 in 2022 and 150 in 2025). However, the run prevention is undeniably dominant, and if he can increase his volume, Rasmussen can easily be a top ten pitcher in 2026.
Plenty of upside
- Sandy Alcantara, Marlins
Alcantara is one of the most difficult pitchers to rank. He was an All-Star level starter from 2019-2021, then had one of the best seasons any starting pitcher has had this decade in 2022, when he was worth 8.0 bWAR and held a 2.28 ERA while leading the league with 228.2 innings and 6 complete games. He won the NL Cy-Young that year, but followed it up with an average 2023 campaign in which his ERA dropped by nearly two full runs.
After missing all of 2024 due to injury, Alcantara was downright bad in 2025. He posted a 5.36 ERA in 31 starts and was worth just 0.2 bWAR. Alcantara still has time to bounce back, at just 30 years old. If Sale can do it, Alcantara certainly can. But it’s worth wondering if the innings he accumulated early in his career have taken their toll. It’s possible Alcantara used up all his magic in 2022.
- Andrew Abbott, Reds
Abbott’s case is similar to Hunter Brown’s. He’s a young pitcher who has taken steps toward improvement in each of his first three seasons. 2025 was his breakout year, which saw Abbott finish with a 2.87 ERA in 29 starts and accumulate 5.5 bWAR. He was named an all-star for the first time and managed to garner Cy-Young votes. One more great season and Abbott can move himself firmly into the top-ten discussion as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
- Joe Ryan, Twins
Ryan has gradually grown from mid-rotation anchor to the ace of the Twins. He was an all-star for the first time in 2025, posting a career-high 4.6 bWAR and a career-low 3.42 ERA in 30 starts. He might not be the flashiest of ace pitchers, but he’s become reliable and sturdy for Minnesota.
- Luis Severino, Athletics
It has been an up-and-down career for the former Yankees ace, but Severino earned a three-year contract with the Athletics after his impressive 2024 season with the Mets. Severino’s 4.54 ERA does not tell the whole story of his 2025 season. He was the Athletics’ most reliable starter, pitching in a home ballpark that was among the most pro-offense environments in baseball. He was better than the numbers showed.
- Matthew Boyd, Cubs
It’s impressive that Boyd has been able to resurrect his career in the past two years. He made just ten relief appearances in 2022 with Seattle, and in 2023, he made 15 starts with a 5.45 ERA. That offseason, something must have changed, because in 2024, Boyd posted a 2.72 ERA in eight starts with the Guardians. That was good enough to earn him a job as a member of the Cubs rotation, and at 34 years old, he had a career year. Boyd made 31 starts, his most since 2019, finishing with a 3.21 ERA and 1.091 WHIP. It will be interesting to see if he can follow that up with an equally great season, but even if he doesn’t, his resurgence has been impressive.
- Trevor Rogers, Orioles
Rogers’ case is the opposite of Zac Gallen’s. If this list were based purely on 2025 stats, Rogers would have cracked the top ten. That’s how good his breakout season in Baltimore was. Unfortunately for Rogers, 2025 looks more like an outlier than the norm. He had a 4.36 career ERA going into last season, which is why his 1.81 ERA and 5.4 bWAR in 18 starts feel too good to be true. Rogers could prove a lot of people wrong and emerge as a truly elite starter this season, but until he does, this feels like a good place for him.
- Cole Ragans, Royals
Royals fans will tell you Ragans is a clear top-ten pitcher in baseball, and while they probably overrate him, it’s possible he’s underrated by the rest of the league. Ragans was exceptional after being traded to Kansas City in 2023. He impressed with a 2.64 ERA in 12 starts with Kansas City to finish off ‘23, and followed that up by finishing fourth in Cy-Young voting in 2024, with a 2.99 FIP and 3.14 ERA. In 2025, Ragans took a step back, only making 13 starts with a 4.67 ERA. However, his 2.50 FIP indicated he may have been the victim of bad luck and bad defense. He’s a bounce-back candidate in 2026.
A lot to prove
- Kyle Freeland, Rockies
Freeland is set to make his fifth Opening Day start for the Rockies, and if you just look at his numbers with Colorado, you’d probably be confused as to why the Rockies keep rolling out Freeland as their ace. His career ERA is 4.54, and the last time he posted an ERA below 4.30 was 2018. In fact, his ERA has soared above 5 three times since then, in 2019, 2023, and 2024. However, it’s important to remember that Colorado is the hardest ballpark to pitch in, which is why Freeland still has a career ERA+ of 107. And he’s amassed 19.3 bWAR across his nine-year career in Colorado. It’s worth wondering what his career would look like if he played for any other team besides the Rockies.
- Tanner Bibee, Guardians
Bibee is getting his first Opening Day nod despite 2025 being the worst season of his young career. He impressed as a rookie in 2023, finishing as the AL Rookie of the Year runner-up with a 2.98 ERA in 25 starts. Last year, Bibee made 31 starts and finished with a 4.24 ERA. Still, he is the de facto ace of this Guardians staff, and should continue to improve as he enters year four in the big leagues.
- Shane Smith, White Sox
Smith was the White Sox’s lone representative at the 2025 All-Star Game as a rookie, and despite his 7-8 record, Smith showed a lot of potential in his first season in Chicago. He did enough to be named as the White Sox Opening Day starter, and while he might not have the name recognition as other ace pitchers, he has the talent to get there.
- Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers
At this point in his career, the idea of Jacob Misiorowski is better than the player of Jacob Misiorowski. He was an All-Star and a rookie of the year contender in 2025, despite finishing with a very average stat line. In 14 starts, Misiorowski held a 4.36 ERA and 1.242 WHIP. Those are fine numbers for a rookie, but don’t scream superstar. It’s certainly possible the 23-year-old takes a massive step forward and makes this ranking look silly. But until Misiorowski proves himself as an elite pitcher, it feels like he is being overrated.
- Jose Soriano, Angels
Soriano is the latest attempt for the Angels to develop a homegrown ace, and so far, he has looked fine. In his first 51 starts with the Angels, he’s held a 3.93 ERA and 3.76 FIP. For most teams, he’d be a reliable third starter. The Angels are asking him to be the frontman of their rotation, and while he probably is not ready for that, he should continue to improve in 2026.
- Matthew Liberatore, Cardinals
Liberatore has a career 4.63 ERA and 0.5 bWAR over four years with the Cardinals. Is he really the best the Cardinals have to offer in their rotation? At 26, St. Louis is expecting Liberatore to take a step forward in 2026, but he is among the weakest “ace” pitchers in the league, if you can call him that.
- Cade Cavalli, Nationals
It’s a bit sad that this is where the Nationals are at in 2026. They’ve been rebuilding for years now and have actually acquired a decent amount of talent by 2025. However, the rebuild took a step back, leading to Mackenzie Gore being traded away. That, combined with Josiah Gray’s injury, has opened the door for Cavalli to be the team’s Opening Day starter. Cavalli has only 11 career starts to his name (1 in 2022 and 10 in 2025), and has a 5.09 ERA in his big league career. It’s not that Cavalli can’t become a great starter in this league, but he’s not there yet, and probably won’t be at the beginning of the season.
