From Madison Bumgarner to Jake Arrieta, who to watch on Opening Day
— -- Play ball!
ESPN.com has 13 writers covering the 12 games and 24 teams in action on MLB's Opening Monday. We asked each of them the following:
Which player are you most looking forward to seeing today?
Here are their answers:
San Francisco Giants at
Milwaukee Brewers, 2:10 p.m. ET
Player to watch: Madison Bumgarner
We know spring stats mean bupkis, but if the Giants are going to keep this whole even-year thing going, they're going to want to see on Day 1 from their ace that what happens in Arizona stays in Arizona. While pitching around a couple of injuries described as minor, MadBum was hittable and visibly laboring through his turns. The Brewers are far from baseball's best lineup, but an overpowering Opening Day from the Giants' ace would be a great way of getting San Francisco's season started on a high note. -- Christina Kahrl
Minnesota Twins at
Baltimore Orioles, 3:05 p.m. ET
Player to watch: Miguel Sano
Watch Miguel Sano take batting practice and it's readily apparent he has the power and hitting acumen to launch 40-plus home runs. The question is, can his hamstrings withstand the punishment of a full season in right field? Sano is a large man at more than 260 pounds, and David Ortiz thinks the Twins are making a mistake playing him in the outfield. Starting Monday at Camden Yards, Sano will try to prove Big Papi and the skeptics wrong. -- Jerry Crasnick
Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers,
4 p.m. ET ( on ESPN/WatchESPN)
Player to watch: Felix Hernandez
Felix Hernandez -- King Felix -- is a future Hall of Fame pitcher, and you never want to pass up an opportunity to watch a dude like that play. He has won double-digit games in nine of the 10 seasons he has been a full-time starter. He went 5-0 against the Rangers last season with 1.83 ERA and is 6-0 with a 1.49 ERA on Opening Day. His velocity has dipped a little, which means he doesn't strike 'em out like he used to, but he can still dominate. -- Jean-Jacques Taylor
Boston Red Sox at
Cleveland Indians, 4:10 p.m. ET
Player to watch: David Price
Quite simply, he's the ace -- in the words of one team official, "the alpha pitcher" -- the Red Sox have craved since they traded Jon Lester 20 months ago. And they paid $217 million to get him. It's debatable whether a proven No. 1 starter would have turned the Red Sox into a playoff contender last season, but Price's mere presence figures to at least get them closer this year. -- Scott Lauber
Washington Nationals at
Atlanta Braves, 4:10 p.m. ET
Player to watch: Bryce Harper
The entire baseball world will have eyes on Bryce Harper, so why should I be any different? He loves the big stage, and being the reigning MVP on Opening Day certainly qualifies. On top of that, he faces Braves righty Julio Teheran, against whom he's batting .435 lifetime with three homers in 23 at-bats. As if that weren't enough, in three career Opening Days, Harper is 5-for-12 with three bombs. Drum roll, please ... -- Eddie Matz
Philadelphia Phillies at
Cincinnati Reds, 4:10 p.m. ET
Player to watch: Raisel Iglesias
The player I'm watching is Raisel Iglesias, Cincy's Opening Day starter now that Anthony DeSclafani has been scratched. A pure upside signing by the Reds, Iglesias had only started five total games in Cuba and was out of live baseball for essentially two seasons, but he started 16 games for the Reds last season with a respectable 4.15 ERA/3.55 FIP. If the Reds are to rebuild successfully, they'll need pitchers like Iglesias to anchor the rotation of the Next Good Reds Team. -- Dan Szymborski
Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres,
7 p.m. ET ( on ESPN/WatchESPN)
Player to watch: Corey Seager
As the Cubs' Kris Bryant and the Astros' Carlos Correa showed last season, new arrivals can have a major impact on their team. Seager enters this year as a rookie, despite his late-season production in 2015, and will start at shortstop, no less, for the team with the highest payroll in baseball. He won't be asked to carry the club, but the sooner he shows he's here to stay, the better off the Dodgers will be. -- Doug Padilla
Toronto Blue Jays at
Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 p.m. ET
Player to watch: Jose Bautista
The unapologetic slugger knows how to incite reaction as well as anyone in baseball. Whether you love his brash enthusiasm or can't stand his bat-flipping showmanship, he's always worth watching. Sure, Josh Donaldson is the reigning AL MVP. But the man who protects him in the lineup, Bautista, is entering a contract year at age 35 -- and his pursuit of a new pact worth upward of $150 million starts now. -- Thomas Neumann
Colorado Rockies at
Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. ET
Player to watch: Jean Segura
For the past two full seasons, Jean Segura has been a bad major league player. He has hit just .252/.285/.332 in 1,100 combined plate appearances in 2014 and 2015 after a sweltering start to 2013 (.325/.363/.487 in the first half) earned him an All-Star spot at the age of 23. Arizona certainly believes it traded for a player capable of 2013's success, and Segura has raked this spring. Time to see if it's real. -- Eric Longenhagen
Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Angels,
10 p.m. ET ( on ESPN2/WatchESPN)
Player to watch: Jake Arrieta
Whenever the reigning Cy Young winner takes the mound for the first time the following season, it's a game to watch, especially so for Jake Arrieta -- considering he has a 22-inning regular-season scoreless streak going, yet he finished the postseason with a fatigued arm. How will he fare in his first outing since losing to the Mets in Game 2 of the NLCS and, more recently, suffering through a blister on his pitching thumb? -- Jesse Rogers
Chicago White Sox at
Oakland Athletics, 10:05 p.m. ET
Player to watch: Sonny Gray
Editor's note: Sonny Gray was scratched due to food poisining and Rich Hill will start in his place.
The right-hander will be making his third straight Opening Day start for the A's, becoming just the third pitcher to do so in Oakland history, joining Dave Stewart (five Opening Day assignments) and Rick Langford (three). Yes, Gray, known as "Oxymoron" in his college days at Vanderbilt due to his contradictory names, is the biggest name on the A's roster. And until a late-season fade in 2015, he was in the American League Cy Young Award conversation with a 12-4 record and 2.06 ERA. He's that good. This also might be the last chance to see Gray in an A's uniform for an Opening Day assignment, what with general manager Billy Beane's predilection for trading away young stars before they get too expensive. -- Paul Gutierrez
Houston Astros at New York Yankees,
(Note -- game was postponed due to weather)
Player to watch: Alex Rodriguez
Who else? Granted, I'm not as excited as I was last year: Would he be booed? Cheered? Stoned? But I'm still interested to know if he retains the populist appeal he somehow attained last season after his war of words with Yankees management during his suspension. Also, can he hit at 40-going-on-41 the way he did at 39? The second question will take a lot longer to answer than the first one, but still: Alex Rodriguez. Yankee stadium. Opening Day. What more could you want? -- Wallace Matthews
Player to watch: Carlos Correa
None other than Alex Rodriguez calls Carlos Correa a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. A-Rod named Correa with Mike Trout and Bryce Harper as baseball's Big 3. His analysis is not unique, but it further shows the heights Correa is expected to reach -- and he is just 21. So when the Astros and Yankees throw out the first pitch in the Bronx on Monday, Correa -- the future of the game -- will have his first opportunity of the season to show he is the present. -- Andrew Marchand