MLB Player News

Manoah will start for the Blue Jays on Opening Day in St. Louis, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Kevin Gausman also would've been a fine choice, but the Jays will go with their young workhorse. Manoah had a fantastic first full season in the majors in 2022, holding a 2.24 ERA over 31 outings.

Lopez will draw the start for the Twins on Opening Day versus the Royals.

Lopez will make his first career Opening Day start after getting traded to the Twins this past offseason. The right-hander has some of the best off-speed stuff in the league and posted a 3.75 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 174 punchouts over 180 innings in 32 starts for the Marlins in 2022.

DeGrom has been named the Rangers' Opening Day starter March 30 against the Phillies, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

The veteran righty isn't going to be fully stretched out after dealing with a side issue for much of this spring, and deGrom will be limited to around 75-80 pitches against Philadelphia. He's made just one official Cactus League start but should be in line for one more tune-up Saturday.

Greinke was announced as the Royals' Opening Day starter Friday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Brady Singer also would have made sense, but Greinke's seniority rules here as he'll make his seventh career Opening Day start, including his third with Kansas City. He'll face off against the Twins on March 30 at Kauffmann Stadium.

McClanahan has been named the Rays' Opening Day starter, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

McClanahan was an obvious choice, as he's coming off a season which saw him finish sixth in the American League Cy Young race. The left-hander will face off against the Tigers at home March 30.

Gibson has been named the Orioles' Opening Day starter, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Gibson had seemed lined up to take the ball March 30 in Boston and now manager Brandon Hyde has confirmed the news. The right-hander has had an excellent spring, putting up a 1.29 ERA and 13:0 K:BB over 14 Grapefruit League innings. For fantasy purposes, Gibson is more of a streaming option outside of deeper formats, and his Opening Day assignment isn't an appealing one.

Perez threw 73 pitches over four-plus innings Thursday against Kansas City minor leaguers, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Perez made his first appearance since returning from the World Baseball Classic, during which he threw just 3.1 innings over two weeks. The relative inactivity did not impact the left-hander's ability to build up for the regular season. He struck out eight and walked two before departing in the fifth. He'll make one more spring start, this time in the Cactus League, against Kansas City next Tuesday.

Kirby fired five no-hit innings in Wednesday's Cactus League win over the Dodgers, allowing one walk while recording nine strikeouts.

Kirby's near-perfect showing was an excellent tune-up for the regular season, with the right-hander needing just 37 pitches to get through his five frames. Kirby has now pitched 8.1 scoreless frames over his last two spring training starts, portending a standout second season following his impressive 3.39 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across his first 25 big-league starts in 2022.

Mahle gave up three earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 4.2 innings during Thursday's spring training loss to Tampa Bay. His spring ERA increased to 5.93. His fastball velocity did increase to a 92.1 to 94.6 mph range, however, from his last spring start when he was in the 89-93 mph range.

Mahle's fastball velocity was noticeably down during his last spring start which was a little concerning, but it doesn't appear to be an issue. Mahle is having a rough spring with 23 hits and three home runs allowed in 13.2 innings, though he also has a 12:5 K:BB ratio. Mahle is a veteran who has a set spot in the rotation, so his stats may not matter as he builds up strength for the season. Most importantly, he looks healthy after an injury-plagued 2022 campaign. Mahle struggled with a sore shoulder last year, ending his season in early September.

Giolito was sitting between 91 and 94 mph with his fastball during his Cactus League start Tuesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

For much of Giolito's career, he's averaged around 94 mph with his fastball. That number dipped to 92.7 during a subpar 2022 campaign, so it's slightly concerning that he's struggled to ramp his velocity back up. On the other hand, he's racked up 15 strikeouts across only 9.1 frames while maintaining a respectable 3.86 ERA in Cactus League games this spring. Overall, Goilito will be hoping to bounce back from last season's 4.90 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, which he posted across 161.2 frames.