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Opening Day and the start of a new Major League Baseball season is roughly six weeks off, but teams are already announcing plans for who’ll take the ball for their maiden voyage in 2026. Traditional MLB Opening Day is set for Thursday, March 26 in the 2026 season, though the Yankees and Giants will get the season started a day earlier with a matchup in San Francisco on March 25.

With that in mind, CBS Sports will use the space below to log every team’s Opening Day starting pitcher decision. These things are always subject to change at a later date, be it because of injury or further roster move, but we’ll keep this as current as the news cycle allows.

Before we meet this year’s crop of Opening Day starters, here’s a look at the pitchers who’ve made the most of these starts in MLB history:

  1. Tom Seaver: 16
  2. Steve Carlton: 14
  3. Jack Morris: 14
  4. Randy Johnson: 14
  5. Walter Johnson: 14

Boston Red Sox: Garrett Crochet

Crochet will be entering his second season with the Red Sox, and he’ll be making his third consecutive (and third overall) Opening Day start. Crochet finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting after compiling a 2.59 ERA (159 ERA+) and a 5.54 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 32 starts.

Detroit Tigers: Tarik Skubal

Skubal, winner of two consecutive AL Cy Young awards, will make his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Tigers, tying him for eighth most in franchise history. It’s possible this could be Skubal’s final Opening Day assignment for Detroit. He’s entering his walk year and is expected to receive a massive payday after accumulating a 3.08 ERA (135 ERA+) and a 5.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first 137 big-league appearances.

Houston Astros: Hunter Brown

The Astros will start someone other than Framber Valdez (now a member of the Tigers) on Opening Day for the first time since 2021. Brown will receive the honors after managing a 2.43 ERA (172 ERA+) and a 3.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 31 starts in 2025. 

Miami Marlins: Sandy Alcantara

It was Friday, Feb. 13 when the Marlins unveiled that Sandy Alcantara would again get the ball on Opening Day. This will be the sixth time in the last seven seasons that he opens the season for the Marlins with 2024 — when he was recovering from Tommy John surgery — being the exception. The 2022 Cy Young winner was 11-12 with a 5.36 ERA last season, but he seemed to finally pitch back to form late in the season. He was 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA in the last eight outings.