The Brewers and Royals will meet for the first time this spring on Thursday afternoon, previewing the matchup that the Brewers will have for their home opener on March 31st. Aaron Civale takes the mound for the Brewers, and depending on how the rotation order shakes out, he could be the starting pitcher for the home opener as well. That would mean Civale slots in as the fourth starter in a rotation headlined by Freddy Peralta, Nestor Cortez, and NL Comeback Player of the Year candidate Brandon Woodruff (Woodruff currently has the third-best odds to win the award behind Ronald Acuña and Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves). Regardless of whether Civale is the fourth or fifth starter in the Brewers’ rotation, his first start will come against the Royals, and his first Cactus League start on Thursday afternoon will give him an early look at the lineup he will face.
Opposing Civale this afternoon will be Chandler Champlain, one of the rare three-letter alliterative names. Originally drafted by the New York Yankees in 2019, Champlain was acquired by the Royals as part of the Andrew Benintendi deal during the 2022 trade deadline. He made 20 starts in Triple-A last season posting an ERA of 5.61 and a low strikeout rate. While Champlain does effectively mix his four pitches, he won’t overpower hitters or generate a great deal of swing-and-miss.
The Royals’ lineup features five major-league roster locks in Jonathan India, Bobby Witt Jr. Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, and Kyle Isbel. Nick Pratto, who will be manning right field for Kansas City on Thursday afternoon, should also contribute to the big league roster this year.
Meanwhile, the Brewers will send seven expected Opening Day starters to the field to begin Thursday’s matchup, with non-roster invitees Jorge Alfaro and Raynel Delgado rounding out the lineup. Most notably, the Crew is starting Brice Turang at shortstop and Joey Ortiz at third base as they continue to shuffle around their infield in hopes of finding the best configuration. Additionally, Jackson Chourio will start the game in CF with Garrett Mitchell in RF and Sal Frelick in LF. Chourio played CF throughout his minor-league career, but didn’t log a single inning in center last season.
Thursday’s game is the first game that will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with the first pitch scheduled for 2:10 CT.
