Who should be the St. Louis Cardinals' 2026 Opening Day starter?

For the first time in what seems like forever, St. Louis has no clear-cut opening day starter. An ace to toe the rubber, a bulldog to dwell on the mound. The first day opponents step into a batter’s box and face off against the Birds on the Bat, they’ll be met with question number one of the new season. There are a few options, but it's most certainly cluttered. 

The Headliners

Matthew Liberatore finds himself headlining this list for reasons that are beyond me. It might be because of his flashiness or that Cardinal fans have been waiting for a breakthrough since he debuted. Whatever the reason, Liberatore headlines a middling rotation full of question marks and new faces. His best offering, his offspeed, ranked him in the 94th percentile in 2025 for run value. Outside of that pitch, Liberatore limits walks and finds ways to induce chase. The scary part of his game is how hittable his fastball has always been. As a pitcher, success at the big-league level often starts with the fastball. There are very few arms who’ve made a career off other pitches, and if they have, they’re outliers in this fictitious equation. Liberatore could find himself lifting the curtain in 2026 for Cardinal Nation, and if he does, I’ll be excited to see what the southpaw has been working on this offseason. 

Newly acquired right-hander Dustin May is the second name that comes to mind. The former flamethrower is still finding himself as a pitcher. When he first came up with the Dodgers, he was throwing Jordan Hicks-esque sinkers at 99-101mph and a sharp slurve that left hitters tantalized and frozen. Since going under the knife, May has lacked the same kind of putaway stuff. In 2025, his advanced statistics were poor across the board, especially his hard-hit% and whiff%. These poor underlying numbers backed up a dreadful season that panned out to a 4.96 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. May needs to find the zone again before he does anything else. His stuff is still good enough to find success in The Show, but it’s no longer good enough to negate walks. If May were to take a bow as the opening act of 2026, I’d be looking for an anti-ball-four approach paired with his elite movement. This newfound method could be the key to unlocking the arm talent that lies within. 

A wildcard in the mix is righty Hunter Dobbins, who was acquired from the Red Sox this offseason for Willson Contreras. In 61 innings last year, the young righty showed he can negate walks while remaining off the barrel and on the ground, a recipe for elongated success. If he were to take the next step, it would come via the strikeout. Dobbins has the pitch-mix to hunt for strike three when he gets ahead in the count; he just needs to find a bit more chase and get hitters out of their comfort zone. The longer you allow a hitter to remain within his comfort zone, the closer you get to a barrel, every pitch. Dobbins, unlike May and Liberatore, has above-average fastball velocity (even if it's only slightly), so he holds the foundation of a modern frontline starter. If Dobbins were to find himself starting on opening day, it would likely be after a massive Spring Training that left Cardinal coaches and fans in awe. I’m hopeful for something of that nature to brew. 

Any direction the Redbirds go will be uncertain. No pitcher on the roster has ever started an opening day game. In the midst of a rebuild, and fans awaiting the losses that lie ahead, the least the Cards could do is get off on the right foot.