Opening day is a day of joy and hope across the baseball world. We get a first look at our favorite team. We see all the new faces debut after an offseason of trades and free agency. However, another beautiful thing about opening day is seeing each team’s best pitcher toe the slab to start the season (barring injuries). It is one of the only days before the playoffs that we are guaranteed to see best-on-best in the starting pitching department across baseball games. With that in mind, I have highlighted the four most intriguing starting pitching matchups we see on opening day this season.

Chris Sale (Atlanta Braves) vs. Michael King (San Diego Padres)

Chris Sale is coming off one of the best seasons in his career. He won the National League Cy Young and Triple Crown last season. 2024 was a career renaissance in a change-of-scenery first season in Atlanta. He has a proven track record of mowing down hitters, currently sitting second all-time in strikeouts per nine innings. However, at age 36, he is entering the latter part of his career. Will he be able to continue his dominance pitching into his late thirties the way contemporaries Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander have? His opening-day start against a formidable Padres lineup should be a good first look at his capabilities in the 2025 season.

Michael King was the key piece the Padres received when they sent Juan Soto to the Yankees. He proved a worthy asset returned in a trade of this magnitude. King was reliable in his first full year as a starter, making 30 starts and pitching over 173 innings. He was dominant, pitching to a 2.95 ERA and an ERA+ 39% better than the league average. He also amassed over 200 strikeouts. There were trade rumors surrounding King and fellow rotation member Dylan Cease during the offseason, as both players entered the final year of their contracts. King receiving the opening day nod tells you who San Diego believes is their team’s ace. Starting the season against a stacked Braves lineup is an excellent test for the Padres ace.

Hunter Greene (Cincinnati Reds) vs. Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants)

Hunter Greene finally had his breakout season in 2024, cementing his status as the bona fide ace of Cincinnati’s pitching staff. Greene entered the MLB with a fastball boasting elite velocity. However, despite its velocity, this pitch was ineffective early in his career. The effectiveness of his fastball helped Greene’s turnaround in 2024. The pitch had a -10 run value in 2023 and jumped to a +19 run value in 2024. The effectiveness of his fastball also helped his slider jump in run value. Greene is still a young pitcher with potential for further growth. Could he improve from the ace status he cemented in 2024 to a Cy Young contender in 2025? An opening-day matchup against an improved Giants lineup will be the first step to answering this question.

Logan Webb is arguably the most reliable pitcher in Major League Baseball. He has led the MLB in innings pitched the last two seasons. 2024 was a down year by Webb’s standards, with his highest ERA (3.47) and lowest ERA+ (111) since becoming a full-time starter in 2021. He still ended up sixth in National League Cy Young Award voting in what was a down year by his standards. Webb does not put up the gaudy strikeout numbers other aces do. However, his sinker and slider combination allows him to induce soft contact and ground balls effectively. His performance has a high floor with his durability. However, can he pitch as effectively as he did in 2023 when he finished second in Cy Young voting? His first test will come against a talented young Reds lineup.

Paul Skenes (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs. Sandy Alcantara (Miami Marlins)

Paul Skenes cemented his status as one of the faces of baseball in his breakout rookie season, during which he started the All-Star Game, won the National League Rookie of the Year award, and finished third in National League Cy Young voting. He enters the 2025 season as a heavy favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award. All signs point to Skenes’ continued dominance in 2025, including reports that he has added two pitches to his already formidable arsenal. Hopefully, his opening-day start is the beginning of a magical season for the best pitching prospect we’ve seen in many years.

On the other hand, former National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara will take the mound for the Miami Marlins for the first time since 2023. 2025 will be a year of many questions for the Marlins ace. He was one of the game’s best pitchers before a setback season in 2023. However, he has put to rest any health concerns during spring training, throwing fastballs at speeds over 100 miles per hour. The Marlins’ current rebuilding status has led many to speculate that the Marlins will trade Alcantara before this year’s deadline. Every start he makes will dress as rehearsals for contending teams hoping to acquire the services of a dominant ace for the remainder of the 2025 season. Can Alcantara return to his Cy Young form? Additionally, what will be the price tag for trading for the former Cy Young winner? Each start in 2025 will help organizations and fans alike answer these questions, making his performance a must-watch for all baseball enthusiasts.

Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers) vs. Blake Snell (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Tarik Skubal was the best pitcher in baseball during the 2024 season. Like Chris Sale, he won his league’s Cy Young Award and triple crown. He was the steady, dominant ace in Detroit’s pitching chaos that helped them make the playoffs in 2024. Skubal has less competition to repeat as the American Cy Young Award winner than his National League counterpart, Chris Sale. However, there has not been a repeat Cy Young winner since Jacob DeGrom in 2018-2019. Skubal is the best pitcher in the American League. However, can he pitch well enough to outpace other contenders for the CY Young Award? The game’s best pitcher going against the game’s best team on opening day will be a fascinating matchup to see where Skubal stands to start the season.

Today is not technically the Los Angeles Dodgers’ opening day. They played a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs to open the season in Tokyo. However, the Dodgers elected to start Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki to start those games in their home country. However, it makes sense for a two-time Cy Young award winner to take the ball for the reigning World Series champions on opening day. Snell is a notorious second-half pitcher. He had a rough start to 2024, but he pitched a 1.45 ERA in the second half of the season. Snell’s pitching is not to everyone’s taste. He is the all-time leader in strikeouts per nine innings and has a reputation for a walk rate well above the league average. Furthermore, pitching for strikeouts and allowing walks increases his pitch count, taxing his team’s bullpen (Snell has only pitched more than 150 innings twice in his nine-year career, winning the Cy Young award in both seasons). Which Blake Snell will we see in the first half of this year? With an elite bullpen, how will the Dodgers manage his innings? These are intriguing questions for the best team in baseball, and opening day will be the first step in finding the answers.