Top of the Order: Is the Opener Dead?

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to Top of the Order, where every Tuesday and Friday I’ll be starting your baseball day with some news, notes, and thoughts about the game we love.

When I think about openers, I think about Ryne Stanek. His statistics as a Ray in 2018 and 2019 were comical: Before he was traded to the Marlins in 2019, he made 100 appearances over those two seasons; 59 of them were “starts.” In those opening appearances, he never threw more than 37 pitches, recorded more than six outs, or faced more than nine hitters. But since leaving the Rays, despite appearing in 234 games, he’s pitched for more teams (three) than he’s made starts (zero). In fact, he’s averaging less than one inning per appearance.

I searched my brain to figure out who is today’s version of Stanek circa 2018-19, only to realize that there isn’t one. I turned to Stathead and confirmed my inkling: The opener has gone by the wayside in 2024.

In my query, I set a couple of filters as guardrails. First, I limited my search to pitchers who were on, at most, three days of rest. That way, I could eliminate the true starters who got hurt or blitzed out of games from this sample. I also capped the number of batters faced at nine. Facing the leadoff man twice goes against the spirit of the opener, where the aim is to prevent batters from seeing any one pitcher too many times.

Openers Used by Season
Season Openers Used
2024 9
2023 154
2022 80
2021 84
2020 34
2019 165
2018 91
2017 2
SOURCE: Baseball Reference

It doesn’t take a math degree to know that nine is far fewer than 154. But it’s not quite that simple. Remember, we’re only a quarter of the way through the season, and there will almost certainly be more openers used the rest of the way. That said, baseball is on pace to use 33 openers in 2024, which would be the fewest since the opener was first utilized in 2018 — yes, that includes the shortened 2020 campaign. It’s worth noting that only 12 openers were used at this point in 2023, so we could see opener usage ramp up as this season progresses, too. Even so, it’s clear that something has changed.

I don’t really have a take on whether or not the opener is a good strategy in today’s game. I also don’t think there’s an obvious explanation for why the fall of the opener is happening. Some of it may just be circumstance. Gabe Kapler’s Giants frequently used openers, and he’s no longer managing. The 2018-19 Rays had Blake Snell and Charlie Morton, but they also had plenty of pitchers who were best deployed in short outings. This season, the Rays feature a deeper group of pitchers who are capable of carrying a starter’s workload. Five years ago, Tampa Bay turned to openers out of necessity; now, that’s no longer necessary.

What To Look Forward to This Weekend

• The Mariners have played great baseball of late, winning eight of their last nine series, bringing their record to 24-20, and entering play Friday in first place in the AL West. But they’ve got a big test coming up, with three games in Baltimore followed by three games in the Bronx, two exciting series that will give the Mariners ample opportunity to show the league they’re for real. George Kirby and Corbin Burnes face off in a marquee pitching matchup on Sunday.

• The Rockies are looking to extend their winning streak that currently sits at seven games, beginning tonight in San Francisco. Colorado started out its streak last week with a win against the Giants, scoring seven runs off Keaton Winn, who is set to start for the Giants on Sunday. Whether or not the Rockies will be riding a nine-game streak at that point will depend on San Francisco starters Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, as well as a piecemeal Giants lineup that’s without Patrick Bailey, Michael Conforto, Jung Hoo Lee, and Jorge Soler.

• Although they’re still the league’s worst team, the White Sox have played less embarrassingly of late, going 8-4 over their last 12 games. This weekend, though, they head to the Bronx to face the first-place Yankees. Led by a ridiculously hot Aaron Judge, New York has won four straight games and 10 of its last 12. During the Yankees’ three-game sweep of the Twins in Minnesota, Judge went 7-for-11 (.636) with five doubles and two home runs. On the season, he’s slashing .262/.393/.555 with 11 homers and a 169 wRC+, which is remarkable considering how much he struggled in April.

Lastly, a quick programming note. Beginning next week, we’ll be shifting Top of the Order to a twice-weekly schedule, running on Tuesday and Friday mornings. See you then!





Jon Becker manages RosterResource's team payroll pages and assists with all other aspects of RosterResource, too. Follow him at your own peril on Twitter at @jonbecker_ and on BlueSky at @jon-becker.com.

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MikeSMember since 2020
10 months ago

I feel like a lot of managers don’t really understand how the opener works and use it just because other teams do or to get a secondary advantage, like to force the other manager into making a platoon decision early.

The primary reasoning behind the opener is to minimize the third time through the order penalty. So if the starter faces 23 guys (which I think is about average) then he faces 1 through 5 three times and those are a team’s best hitters. If an opener faces 5 guys then the next guy faces 23 guys, he faces 6 through 1 five times. The guys getting three looks at him are not as good hitters so (theoretically) can’t take as much of an advantage. I’ve seen openers face 9 guys in two innings, which eliminates that advantage completely.

SculpinMember since 2025
10 months ago
Reply to  MikeS

“…to get a secondary advantage, like to force the other manager into making a platoon decision early.”

Not sure that’s secondary at all. Teams regularly stack platoon hitters and using an opener forces some really tough decisions.

If I were a real manager I would figure out a way to use an opener against the Orioles every time I had a lefty starter going. Their three switch hitters, Henderson, Rutschman, and Santander, all crush lefties, but only Henderson is good (but not great) against righties. Fortunately for them the rest of their line-up is stacked with lefties who crush righties but really struggle against lefties. By using a righty opener much of the advantage they gain from platooning is neutralized unless they expend their bench in the third inning by swapping out players.

Lanidrac
10 months ago
Reply to  Sculpin

Although, if your announced starting pitcher is normally a right-handed reliever on a day a lefty starter is due up in the rotation, the Orioles could just adjust their lineup accordingly.