Sunday’s full slate of games will feature a few new faces on the mound, as well as plenty of familiar faces pitching in new places.
From prospects making their first Major League appearance to big-name free-agent signings toeing the rubber to veteran hurlers getting another chance in a new city, there are nine starting pitchers making debuts of sorts on Sunday.
Here’s a closer look at each of those hurlers:
1. Chris Paddack, SD (vs. SF, 4:10 ET)
Despite never pitching above Double-A, Paddack will make his Major League debut on Sunday after a dominant spring performance. Paddack, the club’s No. 5 prospect and the No. 33 prospect overall, posted a 1.76 ERA and racked up 24 strikeouts over 15 1/3 innings in five Cactus League starts.
Though he hasn’t pitched at the highest level in the Minors, the 23-year-old did impress last season with a 2.10 ERA across 17 starts between Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio. He also had 120 strikeouts over 90 innings.
Padres manager Andy Green informed Paddack that he would be part of the big league rotation when he went to the mound to remove him from his final spring start.
“After I crossed that line, I got pretty emotional looking into the dugout seeing my teammates -- in a good way,” Paddack said. “Tears of joy. Tears of hard work. Just kind of reflected on everything that happened. … If you were in the hallway, you probably heard me screaming.”
2. Patrick Corbin, WSH (vs. NYM, 1:35 ET)
The Nationals countered the departure of Bryce Harper by signing one of, if not the top free-agent pitcher on the market in Corbin.
The left-hander, signed to a six-year, $140 million deal in early December, is coming off a career year in which he made his second All-Star appearance and finished fifth in National League Cy Young Award voting. Corbin averaged 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranked third in the NL, behind only new teammate Max Scherzer and Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.
Corbin also posted career-bests in ERA (3.15), WHIP (1.05), strikeouts (246) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.13). His most notable performance came last April 17, when he came within four outs of tossing a no-hitter against the Giants. He was forced to settle for a one-hit shutout -- the first shutout of his career -- after allowing an infield single against the shift.
3. Michael Pineda, MIN (vs. CLE, 2:10 ET)
Pineda is slated to make his first big league start since July 5, 2017, when he takes the mound Sunday for his Twins debut.
It’s been a long road back for Pineda, who underwent Tommy John surgery following that last outing in 2017. He then signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Twins prior to last season as he recovered from the procedure.
Though he was hoping to return to the mound toward the end of last season, Pineda instead felt right knee discomfort during his rehab stint. He ultimately underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus at the end of August.
With both his knee and elbow feeling healthy, Pineda is hoping to rediscover his 2016 form in which he led the AL with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
4. Sonny Gray, CIN (vs. PIT, 1:10 ET)
Gray left the Yankees, where he struggled mightily in games pitched at Yankee Stadium last season, and joined the Reds via trade in January.
Following a campaign in which he posted a 4.90 ERA (6.98 at home and 3.17 on the road) in 30 appearances (23 starts) for New York, Gray was stellar in three spring starts, finishing Cactus League play with a 0.90 ERA (a run on five hits, no walks and 11 strikeouts) for his new club.
Gray and fellow right-hander Tanner Roark were Cincinnati's two starting rotation upgrades in the offseason. While Roark has pitched in the National League for several years, Gray's scheduled start Sunday will be his first in the NL as he enters his seventh MLB season.
Gray sports a career 3.66 ERA, and the Reds are hoping they get the Gray that pitched so well on the road last season, though for an entire slate of starts in '19 as they look to move up in the NL Central standings.
5. Wade Miley, HOU (vs. TB, 1:10 ET)
The Astros added Miley late in the offseason to help offset the departures of Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel, as well as the loss of Lance McCullers Jr. to Tommy John surgery.
Miley went a combined 17-28 with a 5.48 ERA in 2016-17 with the Mariners and Orioles, then missed the first three months last season with groin and oblique injuries. However, Houston manager AJ Hinch said he considers those results “null and void” for two main reasons -- Miley’s development of a cutter during that ’17 season and his strong finish with the Brewers last season.
The southpaw went 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts for the Brewers, while also compiling a 1.23 ERA in four postseason starts.
“Last year in Milwaukee was a good situation,” Miley said. “I was blessed with the opportunity to get over there. It was a fun year. I was able to help those guys go pretty deep in the playoffs, and hopefully we can do that here.”
6. Trent Thornton, TOR (vs. DET, 1:07 ET)
Thornton is another player who worked his way into his club’s starting rotation with his performance this spring. Though the overall numbers aren’t overwhelming -- he finished with a 4.80 ERA over seven appearances -- Thornton did rack up 16 strikeouts in 15 innings.
Acquired from the Astros in November, the right-hander added some velocity to his fastball last season, which sits at 93-95 mph and tops out at 97 with action. Thornton, the club’s No. 15 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, also sports a nasty curveball and a quirky delivery that adds some deception for hitters.
7. Lance Lynn, TEX (vs. CHC, 4:05 ET)
Last season, Lynn waited until March 15 to sign with the Twins -- and the lack of a typical Spring Training routine certainly took its toll. The veteran righty went 1-4 with a 7.47 ERA over his first eight starts on his way to putting up a combined 4.77 ERA with the Twins and Yankees.
Lynn wasn’t about to make the same mistake this time around. He signed a three-year deal with the Rangers in December, allowing him to have an offseason and Spring Training regimen similar to the one he had during his time with the Cardinals, when he went 72-47 with a 3.38 ERA from 2011-17.
“For me, every spring you can get out of it healthy and feeling strong, that’s all that matters,” Lynn said. “That’s where I am at, so I’m looking forward to it. Anytime you can get off to a good start, it’s good because you can keep from pressing as the year goes on, as you go through your ups and downs.”
8. Luke Weaver, ARI (vs. LAD, 4:10 ET)
Acquired as part of the deal that sent Paul Goldschmidt to the Cardinals, Weaver was a first-round pick in the 2014 Draft and was named St. Louis’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2016.
Though he struggled at times last season on his way to putting up a 4.95 ERA over 30 games (25 starts), he flashed his potential in 2017. The righty went 7-2 with a 3.88 ERA while racking up 72 strikeouts over just 60 1/3 innings.
The D-backs are hoping a stellar spring performance -- he had a 1.04 ERA over 17 1/3 innings in four starts -- is a sign of things to come in the regular season.
9. Matt Moore, DET (vs. TOR, 1:07 ET)
Moore was one of the top up-and-coming pitchers just five years ago. At just 24 years old, the southpaw went 17-4 with a 3.29 ERA over 27 starts in 2013. That was good enough to earn him his first and only All-Star selection and even garnered a few AL Cy Young Award votes.
Moore started the following season with a pair of strong starts before an elbow injury derailed his career. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2014 and has been trying to rediscover his pre-surgery form ever since.
Though he returned to the Majors in July 2015, Moore is just 25-39 with a 5.22 ERA in 116 games (88 starts) since the operation.