Barring injury, two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom will get the ball for the Texas Rangers on March 30, when they kick off a highly-anticipated 2023 season by hosting the Philadelphia Phillies.
Who will toe the rubber for the defending NL Champions?
Of course, plenty can happen between Jan. 6 and March 30, which could render this conversation moot. Cliff Lee started, in Texas, on Opening Day in 2014 because Cole Hamels was out with biceps tendinitis. Aaron Nola got the ball on Opening Day in 2022 because Zack Wheeler — who had finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting the prior season — wasn’t ready to start the first game of the season after dealing with offseason shoulder soreness.