Here's What I'm Excited For This Opening Weekend Across MLB
Baseball is back and there are a plethora of storylines / matchups / stars I'm excited to watch...
Happy Opening Day!
America’s National Pastime is back and seven months of non-stop baseball all starts on Thursday with a delicious buffet of 13 games.
We’ll then have two more Opening Day matchups on Friday with the Brewers-Mets / Braves-Phillies rained out on Thursday. In total, we’ll have a whopping 53 games across this weekend, including full slates of games with every team in action on Saturday and Sunday.
Ah, baseball you beautiful thing, welcome back.
To put it simply; we’re in for a real treat all weekend long with a mouthwatering feast of baseball every single day.
As such, I’ve decided to put together a list of the storylines / teams / elite stars I’m excited to watch across the opening weekend of the 2024 Major League Baseball season.
Let’s dive right in…
Corbin Burnes & The Orioles
If I could pick one ballpark to spend Opening Day at, it would be Camden Yards in Baltimore to watch the Orioles.
Not only is this O’s team coming off a 101-win season in 2023, but the sale of the franchise to a new ownership group led by Baltimore native David Rubenstein was approved on Wednesday.
Talk about the perfect gift for Opening Day.
And things should only get better too. After all, the Orioles are absolutely loaded and acquiring a legit top-of-the-rotation starter in Corbin Burnes should help to push this team over the top. Burnes is one of the best pitchers in the game, he eats innings, he has filthy stuff and he’s the big-game performer this team was missing.
When you add in to the mix that Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman should both be better in Year Three, not to mention that rookie phenom Jackson Holliday will earn a call-up to the majors in the not-too distant future, then Baltimore really is going to be a fun team to watch throughout 2024.
I will be watching as many at-bats of the Orioles’ opening series of the year against the Angels this weekend, especially when you consider that a fully healthy Mike Trout will be on the other side.
Yeah, I don’t know about you, but this feels like the perfect way to begin the first weekend of the regular season.
New Era In Queens & The Jackson Chourio Hype Train Arrives
I cover the Mets for a couple of outlets - Metsmerized & Just Mets - and I also happen to be a fan of The Amazins’. Although, I try to keep it as professional as possible.
Anyway, after having their Opening Day rained out on Thursday, the Mets will officially raise the curtain on a new era on Friday when the Brewers come to town. With boyhood Mets fan David Stearns in place as the new president of baseball operations, the future should be bright for this franchise.
The 2024 season will be a transitional year for the Mets but, with J.D. Martinez a late signing, Pete Alonso and Francisco Álvarez set for monster years at the plate and the return of star closer Edwin Díaz, a return to the postseason could still be possible.
Still, there are a slew of question marks hovering over this team, mainly concerning the starting rotation. It also remains to be seen if Brett Baty is the long-term answer at third base. All in all, this weekend will be the first opportunity to see this Mets team in action in games that actually matter, and I’ll be paying close attention to the rotation in particular. After an electric camp in spring training, in which he posted a stellar 1.29 ERA with strikeouts in 14 innings, I’m beyond intrigued to see Luis Severino on the mound on Saturday.
I’m also going to be paying close attention to the Brewers throughout this series, mainly because of one man:
Jackson Chourio.
The rookie, who is the youngest player to make an Opening Day roster this year, signed a massive eight-year, $82 million contract earlier in the offseason, despite having not played a single game in the big leagues yet. However, you can see why the Brewers would want to lock up the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball early. Chourio hit 20 homers and swiped 40 bases between Double-A and Triple-A last year, and I’m really excited to see the outfielder do his thing on the biggest stage.
Juan In A Million
The New York Yankees trading for superstar Juan Soto was one of the biggest moves of the entire offseason. Whether that is an addition that can push the Pinstripes over the top remains to be seen, but Soto’s brilliance isn’t in doubt.
The outfielder has enjoyed one of the best starts to a career we’ve ever seen and, if he were to retire today, he would get into the Hall of Fame on roller skates.
Watching Soto at the plate is truly mesmerizing, and it is like watching Hans Zimmer conducting the world’s greatest orchestra. I don’t think that is hyperbole.
Therefore, I’ll be tuning in to Soto’s regular season debut for the Yankees on Thursday, and I’m determined to not miss an at-bat of his throughout the opening weekend of the season. Plus, when you throw into the mix that the Yanks are playing the Astros, then that is going to be a fun series to watch given the firepower on both sides. Soto, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Yordan Álvarez, José Altuve, Alex Bregman. Yeah, that’s a lot of potential home runs.
Sho Time
Now, the Dodgers have already played two regular season games given that they took part in the Seoul Series in South Korea against the Padres last week.
However, the Dodgers will be playing in their home opener on Thursday and it will be the first time that ballpark will get to marvel at the fact that Shohei Ohtani is now one of their own. Ohtani went 3-for-10 with two RBIs in those first two games, and I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long this weekend for the best player on the planet to absolutely rake.
Plus, with Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts rounding out the top of that lineup, that Dodgers offense is going to be must-watch TV every single game.
Also, I’m looking forward to seeing Ohtani silence all of his critics right now by letting his play on the baseball field do the talking. I have missed consuming jaw-dropping Shohei Ohtani highlights on a daily basis.
It’s Bobby Witt Jr. Season
I’m going to have a predictions / awards article out over the next day or two, but I’ll tell you now that the Kansas City Royals are one of my picks to surprise a few people this season.
I really like the makeup of that roster, I feel like they are trending in the right direction and, oh, it also helps when you have one of the best young studs in the game at your disposal too.
Bobby Witt Jr. is morphing into an elite All-Star in-front of our very eyes, and the shortstop is exactly why I’ll be keeping a close eye on the Twins-Royals throughout this weekend. Witt is just electric to watch, and he’s the only player in MLB history to have at least 50 home runs and 79 steals through the first two years of his career. Yeah, that’s freaking good.
Witt signed a franchise-record 11-year, $288.8 million deal earlier in the offseason, and I think he’s going to be even better in 2024. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits 40 homers and steals 50 plus bases. He’s that good.
Also, with stud LHP Cole Ragans leading that rotation, coupled with some really smart veteran additions in the ilk of RHP Seth Lugo, OF Hunter Renfroe, 2B Adam Frazier, C Austin Nola and RHP Michael Wacha, I believe the Royals could be a Wild Card team this year.
Either way, I’ll be trying to catch a lot of their games because of the Bobby Witt Jr. show.
Somewhere Down In Texas
The Texas Rangers won the World Series in 2023, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made another deep run in 2024.
That roster is absolutely stacked and they’ve got some key veteran arms in Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom to come back.
However, the reason I’m so excited about the Rangers this year is their young and dynamic outfield. Evan Carter enjoyed a stellar rookie year in 2023 - hitting .306/.413/.645/.1.058 before exploding onto the scene in the postseason - and he’ll be joined by another young stud this year.
Wyatt Langford, the No. 6 prospect in baseball, absolutely raked in spring training, slashing .365/.423/.714/.1.137 with six homers, four doubles, six walks and 20 RBIs in 63 at-bats. As a result, Langford made the Opening Day roster for the Rangers just a year after being drafted with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Langford is the complete package at the plate and he adds a real dynamic bat to that already stacked Texas lineup.
There is just so much young talent in the game right now and, along with Chourio, Carter and Langford, I’m also really excited to see the likes of OF Jackson Merrill, OF Jordan Walker, RHP Anthony Molina, INF Elly De La Cruz and Francisco Álvarez do what they do best throughout the first weekend of the 2024 regular season.
Baseball is back, and it feels so damn good.