Opening Day 2024 is just around the corner. The season’s first game is often a prime opportunity for teams to showcase the best version of themselves. They will usually have their ace pitcher starting (barring injuries) and their top players at each position. If the team’s best relievers get into the game and the closer gets a save opportunity, that’s a bonus. What you see on Opening Day is generally the version of the team you would see in a crucial postseason game. Tinkering with the lineup is taken for granted for the rest of the regular season. But Opening Day remains a special event on the MLB calendar. Ideally, you want your A-team out there, no exceptions. Zeroing in on the offensive factor, here are the top 5 strongest projected lineups for Opening Day 2024.
The Top 5 Projected Lineups for Opening Day 2024
5. Houston Astros
C Yainer Diaz, 1B Jose Abreu, 2B Jose Altuve, SS Jeremy Pena, 3B Alex Bregman, LF Chas McCormick, CF Jake Meyers, RF Kyle Tucker, DH Yordan Alvarez
While the Astros fell just short of reaching their third straight World Series last October, they still have one of the most fearsome lineups in the game. This is despite losing many of the faces from their postseason runs last decade. They no longer have Carlos Correa, George Springer, Michael Brantley, or several other key contributors from years past. But the Astros keep on rolling no matter what. Altuve is one of the steadiest and clutches veteran presences in the game. Alvarez possesses one of the most fearsome bats in either league. Bregman and Tucker remain underrated power threats. Moreover, virtually every hitter they have (minus Abreu) was on the roster for their 2022 title, so they are loaded with winning experience.
No matter how you arrange this lineup, there is no weak spot where opposing pitchers can breathe a sigh of relief. While Houston will have its hands full in the AL West for once, this team remains built to contend for years.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
C J.T. Realmuto, 1B Bryce Harper, 2B Bryson Stott, SS Trea Turner, 3B Alec Bohm, LF Brandon Marsh, CF Johan Rojas, RF Nick Castellanos, DH Kyle Schwarber
The Phillies have come as close as you can get to a title in the last two years without actually winning. They had a 2-games-to-1 lead in the 2022 World Series against the Astros, but falling victim to a combined no-hitter in Game 4 stunted their momentum and they lost in six games. Last season, they were on the verge of a second straight pennant, but eventually lost a hard-fought seven-game battle to the Arizona Diamondbacks. While their pitching staff certainly helped carry them far in both seasons, it was largely their dangerous lineup coming to life that helped them beat the Atlanta Braves in back-to-back Division Series.
Realmuto, Harper, and Turner may be the best hitters at their respective positions in all of baseball. Schwarber is one of the elite DHs, making up for his often low averages with tons of pop. Nick Castellanos leads an outfield that produces plenty of offense, and role players like Stott and Marsh help make the Phillies lineup one of the more complete ones in the game.
3. Texas Rangers
C Jonah Heim, 1B Justin Foscue, 2B Marcus Semien, SS Corey Seager, 3B Josh Jung, LF Evan Carter, CF Leody Taveras, RF Adolis Garcia, DH Wyatt Langford
The defending champs overwhelmed a very good DBacks rotation at the plate to win last year’s World Series. Adolis Garcia was their biggest offensive threat for most of the regular season and postseason. For a while, he looked unstoppable. However, he eventually fell victim to injury, forcing him to miss the last few games of the Fall Classic. Seager filled the void offensively, running away with World Series MVP honors. For the series, Seager went 6-for-21 with three home runs, six RBI, a double, and a 1.137 OPS. Semien was no slouch in that series either, compiling a .917 OPS and leading the team with eight RBI.
Texas Rangers 2024 potential fully-healthy lineup:
Marcus Semien 2B
Corey Seager SS
Evan Carter LF
Adolis Garcia RF
Wyatt Langford DH
Nathaniel Lowe 1B
Josh Jung 3B
Jonah Heim C
Leody Taveras CF pic.twitter.com/eBFoOp8HLI— Rangers Nation ⚾️ (@rangers__nation) March 23, 2024
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise for Texas last year (other than their first title) was the performance of young Evan Carter. Once October rolled around, the 21-year-old relished the spotlight. In 17 postseason games, Carter compiled 18 hits (nine of them doubles), a .300 average, a home run, six RBI, and nine runs scored. Not bad for a late-season call-up. Entering his official rookie year, he now looks to assert himself as a permanent fixture in the lineup.
Nathaniel Lowe is slated to miss Opening Day due to injury, so Foscue will take his place at first base for now. Even without Lowe, Texas is the top AL team on this list of the best Opening Day 2024 lineups.
2. Atlanta Braves
C Sean Murphy, 1B Matt Olson, 2B Ozzie Albies, SS Orlando Arcia, 3B Austin Riley, LF Adam Duvall, CF Michael Harris II, RF Ronald Acuña Jr., DH Marcell Ozuna
The last two Octobers have ended in bitter disappointment for the Braves. Fresh off a 2021 World Series championship, their subsequent domination in the subsequent regular seasons made them appear as a dynasty in the making. However, the Phillies had different ideas both times. Still, the Braves have a dynamic lineup capable of punishing any team’s pitching staff. Arguably, no team possesses a more perfect mix of youth and experience in their lineup than the Braves. Riley, Harris, and, yes, Acuña (still only 26) headline the former group, while Olson, Albies, Duvall, and Ozuna all have significant experience, although some of them remain on the younger side.
Olson enjoyed an MVP-caliber campaign in 2023, leading the majors with 54 homers and 139 RBI. However, his teammate, Acuña, literally stole the honor for himself, putting up the first 40-homer, 70-steal season in MLB history. Riley finished 7th in MVP voting, smashing 37 homers, driving in 97 runs, and scoring 117. With so much pop and speed up and down the lineup, the Braves will once again be a threat to win it all. If they can make it past Philly, that is.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers*
C Will Smith, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Gavin Lux, SS Mookie Betts, 3B Max Muncy, LF Teoscar Hernandez, CF James Outman, RF Jason Heyward, DH Shohei Ohtani
Why is there an asterisk next to the Dodgers’ name? It’s nothing accusatory, it’s simply the fact that there’s no need to predict their Opening Day starters this year. This is because their regular season started last Wednesday, kicking off a two-game set in Seoul, South Korea, against the San Diego Padres. Listed above are their starters for that game, which unlike the other four, are no longer subject to change.
Thanks to adding the best all-around player in baseball, Shohei Ohtani, an already fearsome lineup now becomes the best. While it might not be the most consistently good lineup at every position, the star power alone makes it enough to be the toughest out in 2024. With defending AL MVP Ohtani (recent scandal notwithstanding) now in the mix alongside two superstars in Betts and Freeman (who finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in NL MVP voting last year), the meat of this Dodgers order will be the most intimidating in the sport. Meanwhile, Smith and Muncy have emerged as valuable role players, Lux and Outman are potential stars in the making, and the team added a reliable power bat in Hernandez.
Needless to say, it won’t be fun for opposing pitchers to take the hill at Chavez Ravine this year. The only question is, can this Dodgers team get over the hump and win a World Series in a full season for the first time since 1988? If they do, it will be largely due to the Dodgers possessing the top Opening Day lineup for 2024, assuming they all stay healthy this year.
Photo Credit: © Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports
