Opening Day Pitching Matchups: Fantasy Baseball Preview for Every Game

The MLB regular season opens this week, so it's time to shift our attention from fantasy baseball mock drafts to in-season content!

Here, we'll go over the starting pitcher matchups for Opening Day. There's one game on Wednesday. Most other teams open on Thursday, and a few start on Friday.

Fantasy baseball waiver wire and daily projections can be found all season on FantasySP.

Yankees at Giants

This is the Wednesday game, and it features a great matchup between Max Fried and Logan Webb.

Fried and Webb are already owned in 100% of fantasy leagues, and are projected to be high-end fantasy starting pitchers. Their matchups here are tough, but don't let that stop you from believing in good fantasy showings.

Expectations for all starting pitchers should be tempered right away, but have faith in Fried and Webb on Wednesday.

Pirates at Mets

Paul Skenes and Freddy Peralta will square off in the first game on Thursday - the true Opening Day.

Skenes is obviously a top-end fantasy pitcher, and despite a tough test in the opener, should be in store for a big fantasy showing, and season.

Peralta gets the nod after going to the Mets in a trade this offseason. I like his matchup here, and think the high-end fantasy pitcher could deliver a good showing. The Pirates' offense has improved, so we'll see how they look right away against a good starter.

White Sox at Brewers

Chicago will send Shane Smith to the mound, while Milwaukee is starting Jacob Misiorowski.

Smith had a pretty good showing in 2024, but isn't owned in too many fantasy leagues right now. That makes him a streaming option on Opening Day, and someone to hold on to for as long as he's delivering good results.

Misiorowski turned heads at times during his first year in the big leagues in 2025. The flamethrower is a fun Opening Day starter, and he has a good matchup to hopefully start a big 2026 season.

Nationals at Cubs

Cade Cavalli will start for Washington, while Matthew Boyd gets the nod for the Cubs.

Cavalli is just a deep-league fantasy asset to start the season, and this matchup isn't probably one to try him in. A good showing could change his outlook moving forward though, so keep tabs on his performance.

Boyd is owned in most leagues, and should be scooped up in just about every league for this pretty favorable matchup. He was good in 2025, and I think he gets off to a strong start in this matchup.

Twins at Orioles

Joe Ryan is starting for the Twins, while Trevor Rogers gets the ball for the Orioles.

Ryan is owned in all leagues and figures to be a pretty good fantasy option in 2026. He's got a tough test to start out, but Ryan is good enough to still post a good fantasy mark.

Rogers is available in a handful of leagues, and he could be close to 100% owned by the time he throws his first pitch. I like his matchup and think Rogers could shine on Opening Day.

Red Sox at Reds

Garrett Crochet gets the ball for Boston, while Andrew Abbott will start for Cincinnati.

Crochet is a top-end fantasy starting pitcher, and should be trusted in all matchups. The Reds' offense has improved, but I still expect big things from Crochet in the opener.

Abbott is available in a handful of leagues and should be a pretty solid fantasy asset in 2026. He's worth streaming in this matchup, if he's available in your league, even if his chances of winning aren't the best.

Angels at Astros

The Angels are starting Jose Soriano, while the Astros are sending Hunter Brown to the bump.

Soriano is a pretty solid deep-league asset to kick off 2026, but this matchup isn't one to try on Opening Day. If he fares well, expect Soriano to be added in a bunch of standard leagues.

Brown is another high-end starter, and this matchup is fantastic. He could post one of the top fantasy scores among the Opening Day starting pitchers.

Tigers at Padres

Tarik Skubal will get the ball for Detroit. San Diego has not named a starter yet, but could go with Michael King or Nick Pivetta.

Skubal is another top-end fantasy pitcher, and despite a tough matchup here, should be expected to deliver a good fantasy showing.

Whoever starts for the Padres has an OK fantasy matchup. King and Pivetta are already owned in just about every league, and should be at 100% each when they throw their first pitches.

Rays at Cardinals

Tampa Bay will start Drew Rasmussen in the opener, while St. Louis starts Matthew Liberatore.

Rasmussen is owned in most leagues already, but he needs to be at 100% owned for this juicy matchup. St. Louis' roster is depleted after this past offseason, and the offense could be very weak as a result.

Liberatore isn't owned in many fantasy leagues, but he's at least a deep-league streaming option for this matchup. We'll see if Liberatore can deliver like a No. 1 starting pitcher - if he does, he'll be scooped up in leagues in a hurry, so be watching his statlines.

Rangers at Phillies

Texas is starting Nathan Eovaldi, while Philadelphia is firing up Cristopher Sanchez.

Both guys are owned in 100% of leagues already, but Sanchez is the better fantasy asset. I also like his matchup a bit more, and think Sanchez could deliver big right off the bat.

Eovaldi is a quality fantasy asset, but in a bit tougher matchup, I'd temper my expectations with him just a bit. He's still one to trust in most fantasy leagues.

Diamondbacks at Dodgers

Arizona is starting Zac Gallen, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto is getting the nod for Los Angeles.

Yamamoto is a high-end fantasy pitcher, and is the guy I like most in this matchup. Arizona's lineup is solid, but Yamamoto should be expected to deliver well against all lineups.

Gallen is available in a few leagues, but is normally a very good fantasy option. He's looking to bounce back from a down 2025 showing and a good outing in this one could begin his bounce back campaign. The Dodgers aren't one to target, so temper expectations for Gallen, and don't be shocked if he struggles.

Guardians at Mariners

Tanner Bibee gets the nod for Cleveland, while Logan Gilbert is the Seattle starter for this one.

Both are good fantasy options, but Gilbert is definitely the better option. His matchup is good, so I'd expect a big outing from Gilbert to kick off his 2026 season.

Bibee is available in a few leagues, but I'm not sure this is a matchup that'll get him to 100%. Seattle has a good offense, so temper expectations for Bibee. He'll be a better fantasy asset for starts moving forward, so don't overreact too much to his opening start/results if they aren't great.

Athletics at Blue Jays

This is the first of three Friday matchups between teams who aren't opening their seasons on Wednesday or Thursday.

Luis Severino is starting for the Athletics. He's a deep-league asset to kick off the season, and this isn't a matchup to stream him in, as Toronto's offense is very good.

Kevin Gausman is starting for the Blue Jays. He's owned in all leagues and should be expected to deliver big in this pretty good matchup.

Rockies at Marlins

Kyle Freeland is starting for Colorado, while Sandy Alcantara is starting for Miami.

Freeland is a deep-league asset to open the season, but this matchup could help him to better results. With the game not in Colorado, Freeland's fantasy outlook in this one is a bit better too.

Alcantara is owned in most leagues, and has a really good outlook in this favorable matchup. He should be at 100% owned before he throws his first pitch.

Royals at Braves

Kansas City's Cole Ragans and Atlanta's Chris Sale are the starting pitchers for the final two teams who are kicking off their seasons.

Both are high-level fantasy pitchers, but I like Sale's outlook in this one a bit more. When healthy, he's a top-level fantasy pitcher, and I think he delivers well in the opener.

Ragans is looking to bounce back in 2026. A tough matchup awaits, but he could get things off to a strong start with a nice outing here.