milwaukee brewers
- chad patrick
- Jakub Misiorowski
- Brandon Woodruff
- kyle harrison
- Brandon Sproat
With reports that Quinn Priester is dealing with a wrist injury that will keep him out of the start of the season, Patrick will likely start on Opening Day. After trading Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets, the rotation depth in Milwaukee is a little light.
In exchange for Peralta, the Brewing Crew added top prospect Sprott to their starting lineup. Harrison was included in the trade that sent Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox. Additionally, Woodruff is looking to return for his first full season back from injury (although his status to start this year is still somewhat in question).
chicago cubs
- Matthew Boyd
- cade horton
- Edward Cabrera
- shota imanaga
- Colin Rea
The Cubs are mostly running this aside from their trade for Cabrera with the Miami Marlins. Boyd has been named the Opening Day starter for Chicago, while Horton looks to build on his incredible rookie campaign.
Imanaga had a brief stint with the QBs in free agency before ultimately rejoining the club. Rea is the final piece of a very strong starting group for Chicago. Between the pitching and their elite defense, expect some low-scoring games in the Windy City that could end up with the Cubs running the NL Central.
pittsburgh pirates
- Paul Skenes
- mitch keller
- bubba chandler
- braxton ashcraft
- jose urquidi
Powered by one of the game's best pitchers, Pittsburgh is trying to improve on a disappointing 2025. Skanes and Keller are leading the way, and top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler looks to build on last season's mediocre MLB debut.
Ashcraft is trying to recover from a tough '25. After suffering through a number of injuries over the past few years, he is back to full health after two years in remission from the forearm problem that sidelined him in 2024. The Pirates signed former Detroit Tigers starter Urquidi to a short-term deal to add a playoff-tested pitcher to the group.
St. Louis Cardinals
- Matthew Liberator
- dustin may
- Michael McGreevy
- andre pallante
- kyle leahy
St. Louis lost Miles Mikolas to free agency and traded Sonny Gray to the Red Sox. Apart from this he doesn't have much else. Signing Mays and retaining Liberatore helps, but the Cards need some pitchers to eat innings. It will become more difficult to shorten the games from what they currently have.
With a strong and young offense, it will be exciting to watch games in St. Louis without the pressure of hoping for a playoff berth. They will get useful outings from these five, which will give the club a good chance of winning most of the games.
cincinnati reds
- Andrew Abbott
- Nick Lodolo
- brady singer
- Chase Burns
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News broke this week that star pitcher Hunter Greene could be out until the end of July after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his arm. The Reds still have a solid pitching staff without him. Abbott, Lodolo and Singer are solid contributors, along with impressive rookie Chase Burns.
Losing Jack Littell to free agency will certainly hurt, as he was a solid innings-eater for the club. Problems with his forearm kept Loewer out of action in 2025 after an impressive 2024 campaign. After a surprise postseason appearance for Cincinnati, they will be hoping to bounce back from this starting group.
