Cleveland Guardians announce Opening Day starter in Kansas City

With the start of the regular season just over a week away, the Cleveland Guardians have finally revealed who will start on Opening Day in Kansas City. Tanner Bibee was announced as Clevleand's starter against the Royals, his first-ever Opening Day start.

Following the loss of 2020 Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber after only two starts, Bieber was forced into the Ace role of the Guardians' pitching staff. Even though Bibee essentially received the role of Cleveland's Ace by default, he proved he was more than worthy with his performance on the mound.

Bibee finished the 2024 season with a 3.47 ERA, 1.117 WHIP, and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched while going 12-8 in 31 starts, not a bad follow-up to his Rookie of the Year runner-up performance in 2023. The then-25-year-old right-hander was able to carry over his regular season success into the postseason, pitching to a 3.45 ERA, 1.468 WHIP, and 9.2 K/9 ratio in 15.2 innings across four starts.

The newly named Opening Day starter has made two spring training starts, keeping opposing offenses off the board in 9.0 innings with three hits allowed and two walks issued with seven strikeouts. Even though Bibee has only pitched in two games, he has been kept on schedule to start on Opening Day despite the announcement not being made until now.

Bibee's previous track record against Kansas City

Bibee faced the Kansas City Royals four times last season, with 11 runs scoring (10 earned) on 20 hits and six walks while striking out 22 batters faced in 22 innings. A good portion of the damage from Kansas City came in one start (five runs, eight hits, and two walks), while he managed to hold the Royals to two earned runs or fewer in the other three starts.

It's been somewhat of a mixed bag for Bibee when it comes to individual matchups with Royals hitters. Bibee has kept MJ Melendez (0-12, seven strikeouts) and Salvador Perez (0-11, five strikeouts) in check, while Bobby Witt Jr. (4-13, including a solo home run) and Vinnie Pasquantino (6-8, two home runs, three RBI) have given him some trouble.