Listing every Cubs Opening Day starter since 2000: full list and results

Opening Day always feels special for Chicago Cubs fans. This year, excitement is near peak levels as the team heads into 2026 after a busy offseason that saw the front office make significant, exciting additions to the roster.

The Opening Day starting pitcher is always the first indication of who could potentially lead Chicago's rotation in their yearly quest to make the playoffs. With the Cubs kicking off the season at home this year, here is a look at every Opening Day starter the team has had since 2000.

Looking back at the last 27 Cubs Opening Day starters

2026 - Matthew Boyd

Matthew Boyd secured the Opening Day assignment for the Cubs after enjoying a surprising late-career resurgence with the team in 2025. The lefty was Chicago's most consistent pitcher for the entire 2025 campaign with an impressive 3.21 ERA in 31 starts, good enough for the 34-year-old to be named an All-Star for the first time in his career. After enduring multiple arm surgeries during the first half of the decade, Boyd also reached 179 1/3 innings pitched, the most he's thrown since 2019 (185 1/3).

Boyd also has a special connection to the Cubs. His grandfather grew up in Chicago and was a die-hard Cubs fan before he passed away in 2019. After Boyd was named the Opening Day starter, he told the Cubs' press corps, "You don't know if the opportunity is ever going to present itself again. So, it's an honor."

2025 - Shota Imanaga

2025 was not a typical Opening Day assignment since the Cubs began the season playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo. After a stellar first season in MLB, where Imanaga posted a 2.91 ERA in 29 starts for Chicago in 2024, the Japanese southpaw took the ball in the Cubs' first game of the season.

While Imanaga only lasted four innings, he did not surrender an earned run to the most formidable lineup in the league. But the Cubs dropped both games in the series to a Dodgers team that later captured its second consecutive World Series title. Imanaga missed a month and a half of the season with a hamstring injury that also seemed to hinder his performance when he returned to the mound.

2024 - Justin Steele

Before Imanaga's emergence, homegrown starter Justin Steele had already established himself as Chicago's most reliable starting pitcher. From 2022-23, the southpaw made 54 starts for the Cubs with a spectacular 3.11 ERA over that time period.

Steele continued to dominate in his first career Opening Day assignment, turning in 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts against the Texas Rangers on the road. Steele exited the game after tweaking his hamstring while fielding a bunt from Rangers batter Leody Taveras. Luckily, Steele only missed about a month and wound up completing another fantastic year with a 3.07 ERA over 134 innings.

2023 - Marcus Stroman

While Marcus Stroman's tenure in Chicago only lasted two years, he was an anchor in the rotation in 2022 and 2023. After earning the Opening Day assignment, Stroman outdueled former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, turning in six shutout innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Unfortunately, the Cubs dropped the opening series and the NL Central to Milwaukee that year, and Chicago missed the playoffs. After being named to the 2023 All-Star Game, the right-hander declined his player option for 2024 and signed a contract with the New York Yankees.

2020-22 - Kyle Hendricks

To this day, Kyle Hendricks is one of the most beloved Cubs players in recent memory. His combination of steady performance and humble demeanor led to a prosperous 11-year career in Chicago, where he collected an ERA title, a World Series ring and three Opening Day starts.

By far the most impressive of these Opening Day starts came at the beginning of the shortened 2020 season. Hendricks only needed 103 pitches to throw a complete game shutout against the Brewers, a gem where he allowed just three hits and struck out nine batters.

2015, 2017-2019 - Jon Lester

When the Cubs signed Jon Lester before the 2015 season, it was a statement to the league that they were ready to compete. Lester was coming off seven straight seasons without missing a start, and his time in Chicago was no different as the team gave him four Opening Day nods.

Ironically, Lester did not start for the Cubs on Opening Day in 2016, which was arguably the best season of his career. The left-hander finished second in the league in ERA (2.44) in 2016, behind only his teammate Hendricks. With his experience, veteran leadership and quality production, the Cubs trusted him to lead their rotation in the subsequent three seasons.

2016 - Jake Arrieta

Even though the Cubs had Lester, giving Jake Arrieta the Opening Day nod was a no-brainer after hisdominant Cy Young Award-winning season in 2015. This was the most commanding stretch of Arrieta's career, and perhaps of any starting pitcher to don a Cubs uniform.

And this game was no different. Arrieta tossed seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels, which set the tone for the most historic year in the club's history. Although Arrieta's superhuman status began to wane in the second half of the year, he was still able to dominate in the playoffs.

2013-14 - Jeff Samardzija

After coming up in the Cubs farm system and spending his initial years as a reliever, Jeff Samardzija was successfully converted into a full-time starter in 2012. After a respectable season, he took the ball on Opening Day in 2013-14 while the Cubs front office worked on building a championship-caliber team. And Samardzija dazzled in both of those games, going eight innings with nine strikeouts against the Pirates in 2013, and seven shutout innings against the same team the following year.

While Samardzija was not part of the team's playoff runs in the late 2010s, his ascendance to dependable starter helped the team cash in on his value. At the 2014 trade deadline, the Cubs dealt Samardzija, along with Jason Hammel, to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for shortstop Addison Russel, who later became a cornerstone of the World Series team two years later.

2011-12 - Ryan Dempster

Although he only made one All-Star Game during his tenure with the Cubs (2008), Ryan Dempster was a mainstay in Chicago's rotation for seven and a half seasons. By the time he got the Opening Day nod in 2011, the team was undergoing a full rebuild under a new owner and front office. Unfortunately, these were back-to-back last-place seasons for the Cubs.

But Dempster found the fountain of youth in 2012, his age-35 season. On Opening Day, Dempster outdueled Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg to go 7 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. In 16 starts for the Cubs that year, Dempster had a 2.25 ERA before the Cubs traded him to the Texas Rangers in a key deal that brought Hendricks to the Cubs.

2005-2010 - Carlos Zambrano

Carlos Zambrano reigned supreme as the Cubs' ace during the latter half of the 2000s. His six Opening Day starts rank second in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins (7). Zambrano's string of Opening Day starts began after he made his first All-Star Game in 2004, and compiled an impressive 2.75 ERA in 209 2/3 innings pitched.

Although Zambrano's tenure with the Cubs ended in controversy after he abandoned the team, he was still one of the team's most prominent players during the 21st century with a career 3.66 ERA and 1,637 strikeouts in 12 seasons (11 with the Cubs). Zambrano also still makes regular appearances at Wrigley Field, where fans give him a warm welcome.

2003-04 - Kerry Wood

Kerry Wood is a living Cubs legend, and he got the Opening Day assignment during a very exciting two-year period of North Side baseball. After his dominant rookie season, Wood established himself as the ace of the Cubs' staff heading into a memorable 2003 campaign.

And Wood helped kicked off that season with a bang, firing five innings and striking out five Mets at Citi Field while the offense posted double-digits in a 15-2 victory. Wood went on to make 32 starts for the Cubs in 2003, with a 3.20 ERA over 211 innings pitched. Wood also made four postseason starts as the Cubs came within one victory of securing their first National League pennant since 1945.

While the team did not make it to the World Series with Wood, he was again named the Opening Day starter the following year, and he spent the vast majority of his playing career with the team.

2000-02 - Jon Lieber

Before Wood had stepped into the role as Chicago's ace and Mark Prior made his major league debut, Jon Lieber put together a string of three Opening Day starts for the team to open the 21st century. Lieber is one of the more underappreciated players in team history, but tossed a whopping 827 2/3 innings for the team over a four-year stretch.

That stretch included a 20-win 2001 season, where Lieber also posted a solid 3.80 ERA over 232.1 innings pitched. Although he was never part of a playoff team in Chicago, Lieber was a major contributor for the Cubs' rotation for several years.