Who is the ace of the Cleveland Guardians starting rotation?

Last season was the dawn of a new era when it came to Cleveland Guardians’ Opening Day starters.

After having Shane Bieber take the ball on Opening Day for five straight seasons, the Guardians were guaranteed to open the season with a different starting pitcher due to Bieber still being on the mend due to Tommy John surgery. 

And after a scoreless top of the first inning, the Guardians took the field with… Ben Lively on the mound? 

That’s right. After getting 10 straight Opening Day starters from Cy Young winners in Corey Kluber and Shane Bieber as their Opening Day starters, the Guardians opened 2025 with a 33-year-old journeyman taking the ball on the first day of the season.

But that wasn’t the Guardians’ initial plan. Earlier in the spring, Cleveland’s front office inked starter Tanner Bibee to a five-year, $48 million extension to be the new anchor of their rotation. Not long after that, they announced that he’d be their Opening Day starter.

But that didn’t end up coming to fruition, as the Guardians had to scratch him from his start due to acute gastroenteritis. 

But, with Lively injured and off the roster, the Guardians are set to have a different starter take the ball on Opening Day for the second straight season. Based on how things went last year, it seems like Bibee will finally be able to make his long-awaited Opening Day start in 2026.

But that may not be a lock thanks to the presence of Gavin Williams. Williams, who entered last season as the Guardians’ No. 2 starter, posted a breakout 2025 campaign where he had a 3.02 ERA in 167 2/3 innings. 

While he struggled with his command (MLB-leading 83 walks), the season marked a star turn for Williams, who finally put it all together in 2025 after teasing Cleveland with his potential since he made his MLB debut in 2023. 

Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams are co-aces at the top of the Guardians' starting rotation

To be clear, the Guardians not having a clear-cut Opening Day starter is a good problem. While there are plenty of teams who have aces who can take the ball on Opening Day, there are also plenty of teams that don’t (try to remember who took the ball for the White Sox on Opening Day last year without looking it up). 

Although it would be a bit disappointing for Bibee to not get a chance to start for the Guardians on Opening Day after the front office put their trust in him with the aforementioned contract extension, Williams spent last season showing that he deserves to be in any kind of “ace” conversation around the Guardians. 

Along with having that sparkling ERA, he came within two outs of recording a no-hitter against the Mets in August and finished the year with a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings in September. 

Bibee’s 4.24 ERA is a bit worse, but he also finished the season on a tear (1.30 ERA in 27 2/3 September innings) and allowed just one run in 4 2/3 innings in his lone postseason start. Bibee also showcased his incredible ability to go deep in games, as he threw 182 1/3 innings in his 31 starts compared to Williams’ 167 2/3 innings in the same number of starts. 

Earlier this week, a reader asked Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes who he thinks will start for the Guardians next season, where he said that he expects Bibee to take the ball while also writing that “A lot can and will happen between now and Opening Day."

But at the end of the day, the Guardians having two ace-level starters in their rotation is a good thing, especially considering how strong the rest of Cleveland’s rotation is behind them.

Both of them deserve the (largely superficial) honor of starting on Opening Day, so Stephen Vogt will have his work cut out for him when deciding who will take the ball in the season opener.