Of the many decisions a manager must make throughout a season, picking an Opening Day starter hardly is the most consequential. After all, every team needs at least five starters -- and almost always more -- to get through a grueling 162-game schedule.Still, there is no denying that the assignment

Of the many decisions a manager must make throughout a season, picking an Opening Day starter hardly is the most consequential. After all, every team needs at least five starters -- and almost always more -- to get through a grueling 162-game schedule.

Still, there is no denying that the assignment is a coveted one. Not only is Opening Day special, but being first to take the ball is considered a high honor.

With that in mind, here is a team-by-team breakdown of who is most likely to get the nod in 2018. This list will be kept updated as each club announces its choice leading up to March 29.

Longtime lock

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasted no time making it official on Tuesday. Kershaw will make his eighth career Opening Day start, pushing him past Hall of Famers Don Drysdale and Don Sutton for the Dodgers' all-time record. Kershaw's eight will be consecutive, giving the left-hander the second-longest active streak behind the Mariners' Felix Hernandez .

Actual OD starter: Kershaw

“Cat’s out of the bag” — Dave Roberts on Clayton Kershaw being Opening Day starter. — Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) February 13, 2018

No doubt about it

Braves: Julio Teheran

Now the unquestioned leader of a young rotation, Teheran already has made four straight Opening Day starts, tied for the third-longest active streak. His fifth would push him past Hall of Famers Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and into a tie for third in Atlanta Braves history.

Actual OD starter: Teheran

Cardinals: Carlos Martinez

The torch was passed to Martinez last year from Adam Wainwright . Martinez then made his second All-Star team on his way to crossing the 200-inning mark for the first time.

Actual OD starter: Martinez

D-backs: Zack Greinke

His second season in Arizona went much better than his first, with a 3.20 ERA and a fourth-place National League Cy Young Award finish. This would be Greinke's third straight Opening Day assignment.

Actual OD starter: Patrick Corbin . A groin injury put Greinke behind schedule and opened the door for Corbin, who got the nod over fellow left-hander Robbie Ray.

Giants: Madison Bumgarner

Like Teheran, Bumgarner has made four straight Opening Day starts, and he should make it five this year. That would break a tie with Timothy Lincecum for the most in total by a Giants pitcher since Hall of Famer Juan Marichal did it 10 times between 1962-73.

Actual OD starter: Ty Blach . It was scheduled to be Bumgarner until a comebacker fractured his pitching hand during his final Cactus League outing. With Jeff Samardzija also hurt and Johnny Cueto 's schedule not aligned correctly, the assignment fell to Blach.

Indians: Corey Kluber

Kluber is the clear ace of a talented rotation as he looks to defend his second American League Cy Young Award. This would extend his streak of Game 1 starts to four, the longest for a Cleveland pitcher since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry from 1972-75.

Actual OD starter: Kluber

Nationals: Max Scherzer

Stephen Strasburg has four career Opening Day starts, including in 2017, when Scherzer was coming back from a stress fracture in his right ring finger. Assuming good health, Scherzer should get the nod for the third time with Washington as he looks to begin his journey to a third straight NL Cy Young Award.

Actual OD starter: Scherzer

Rays: Chris Archer

In each of the past three seasons, the right-hander has taken the mound for Tampa Bay's first game, and then gone on to throw more than 200 innings. Archer could be the first Rays pitcher to start four years in a row.

Actual OD starter: Archer

Red Sox: Chris Sale

The left-hander deferred last year to Rick Porcello , who was then the defending AL Cy Young Award winner. However, Porcello struggled in 2017, while Sale posted a 2.90 ERA and became the first AL pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 1999 to reach 300 strikeouts.

Actual OD starter: Sale

Rockies: Jon Gray

While a foot injury limited him to 20 starts, Gray backed up his first Opening Day assignment by posting a 3.67 ERA, which made him the only Rockies starter to get under the 4.00 mark in 2017. This would be just the second time since 2002 that Colorado used the same Opening Day starter in back-to-back seasons.

Actual OD starter: Gray

Heavy favorites

Blue Jays: Marcus Stroman

Going back to 2010, Toronto has used six Opening starters in eight years, including Stroman in '16. Marco Estrada got the nod last year, and J.A. Happ enjoyed a stellar season, but the 26-year-old Stroman led the club in innings and ERA.

Actual OD starter: Happ. Because of a shoulder issue, Stroman had to take his time getting ramped up for the season, so he won't pitch until the team's fourth game.

Brewers: Chase Anderson

This would be more complicated if Jimmy Nelson weren't recovering from shoulder surgery, but Anderson's 2.74 ERA last year ranked sixth in the Majors (minimum 100 innings).

Actual OD starter: Anderson

Cubs: Jonathan Lester

Lester is one of three 2017 Opening Day starters in the rotation, along with Jose Quintana (White Sox) and Yu Darvish (Rangers). But even with those challengers -- plus Kyle Hendricks -- Lester is the highly respected elder statesman of the group, with six career Opening Day starts to his name.

Actual OD starter: Lester

Padres: Clayton Richard

San Diego has some intriguing young talent in its rotation, including Dinelson Lamet and Luis Perdomo -- both of whom will pitch this season at age 25. But the 34-year-old Richard is by far the team's most experienced starter and was dependable in 2017 before re-signing for two more years.

Actual OD starter: Richard

Phillies: Aaron Nola

Of the eight pitchers to make at least 10 starts for the Phillies last season, Nola's 3.54 ERA was the lowest by nearly three-quarters of a run. The righty will be 24 on Opening Day, which would make him to youngest Philly hurler to get such an assignment since Floyd Youmans (also 24) in 1989.

Actual OD starter: Nola

Rangers: Cole Hamels

There isn't an obvious challenger standing in the way of Hamels making his fourth Opening Day start, despite his 4.20 ERA last season.

Actual OD starter: Hamels

Royals: Danny Duffy

The left-hander got the nod last year, and he was Kansas City's most effective pitcher when he was healthy. Returning veterans Jason Hammel and Ian Kennedy both posted ERAs higher than 5.00, while Jason Vargas is now a free agent.

Actual OD starter: Duffy

Tigers: Michael Fulmer

This will be only the second time since 2007 that Verlander won't take the ball for Detroit on Opening Day. With Jordan Zimmermann having struggled in a Tigers uniform, Fulmer is the obvious successor as long as he makes a successful return from surgery on a nerve in his right elbow.

Actual OD starter: Zimmermann. New manager Ron Gardenhire surprised a lot of people when he overlooked Zimmermann's 6.08 ERA in 2017, citing his veteran status and leadership.

White Sox: James Shields

Shields is one of six active pitchers to make at least seven Opening Day starts, and he could join Edinson Volquez as the only ones to get the call for four different franchises. While Shields' numbers have dropped off over the past two seasons, the rest of the rotation is extremely light on experience.

Actual OD starter: Shields

Split decision

Astros: Justin Verlander

Verlander's nine career Opening Day starts rank third among active pitchers, though all of those came with the Tigers. The veteran righty seemed to take over as Houston's ace upon joining the World Series champions late last season, but Dallas Keuchel is obviously no slouch and has made the start for the Astros in three straight seasons.

Actual OD starter: Verlander

Mariners: James Paxton

This could be a fraught decision for manager Scott Servais, as Hernandez is a Seattle legend. Hernandez ranks first among active pitchers with nine straight Opening Day starts and second behind Carsten Sabathia with 10 total, but his performance has dipped of late. Based on recent track record, the ball would go to Paxton. The lefty has faced durability issues, but his 2.61 FIP last season was third lowest in the Majors (minimum 100 innings), behind only Sale and Kluber.

Actual OD starter: Hernandez. King Felix remains the King and will become only the seventh pitcher to start at least 10 consecutive openers.

Marlins: Dan Straily

In Miami's first season following the passing of Jose Fernandez , Straily and Jose Urena were the only reliable members of the rotation. Straily had the edge in starts (33), innings (181 2/3) and strikeouts (170), although Urena posted the lower ERA (3.82).

Actual OD starter: Urena. Manager Don Mattingly described the choice between Urena and Straily as "almost a coin fiip." But with Straily now dealing with right forearm inflammation, he may not have been able to take the ball anyways.

Mets: Jacob deGrom

Noah Syndergaard got the call in 2017, but then he missed almost the whole season due to injury. In contrast, deGrom threw a career-high 201 1/3 innings for a team with huge durability issues. If picked, he would be the Mets' seventh Opening Day starter in as many seasons.

Actual OD starter: Syndergaard. deGrom dealt with some back stiffness early this spring -- just enough to push him to the second game of the season.

Orioles: Kevin Gausman

Gausman was the choice last year and he is one of two pitchers on the Orioles' roster to have started more than six games in 2017. The other is Dylan Bundy , who posted similar season-long numbers. Gausman, however, produced a 2.70 ERA over his final 14 outings.

Actual OD starter: Bundy. Despite the re-signing of Chris Tillman and the additions of Andrew Cashner and the recently signed Alex Cobb, Bundy will start his first Opening Day.

Pirates: Jameson Taillon

With Gerrit Cole traded to the Astros, the door is open. Ivan Nova has the experience and has been solid for the Pirates since arriving in August 2016. But Taillon, the 26-year-old former top prospect, could be the team's next ace and overcame testicular cancer to make 25 starts last year.

Actual OD starter: Nova. The Bucs opted for Nova's experience but will have Taillon start their home opener on April 2.

Yankees: Luis Severino

Masahiro Tanaka has gotten the assignment three straight times and is coming off a spectacular postseason performance. But while Severino will be only 24 on Opening Day, he was one of the top starters in the game last year, earning a third-place finish in the AL Cy Young Award race.

Actual OD starter: Severino

Contenders

Angels: Garrett Richards

Richards figures to have the inside track if healthy, but he has managed to pitch just 12 times over the past two seasons. Shohei Ohtani would get the call on hype and pure talent, though it remains to be seen how he looks this spring and how aggressively the Angels push him. Andrew Heaney , Tyler Skaggs and Matthew Shoemaker all could be in the mix if Richards encounters more health problems.

Actual OD starter: Richards

Athletics: Kendall Graveman

The right-hander stepped in last year for the injured Sonny Gray , and with Gray now with the Yankees, the Oakland rotation is an inexperienced bunch. Lefty Sean Manaea led the staff in innings (158 2/3), with an ERA (4.37) just slightly above Graveman's (4.19), and he may be the top challenger for the job.

Actual OD starter: Graveman

Reds: Anthony DeSclafani

DeSclafani was not one of the 16 pitchers to start at least one game for Cincinnati in 2017 -- he missed the season with a sprained elbow ligament after posting a 3.28 ERA in '16. Therefore, this could be a wide-open race also involving two other pitchers who have dealt with significant recent injuries (Homer Bailey and Brandon Finnegan ). The wild card is Luis Castillo , who debuted last June and was brilliant over 15 starts.

Actual OD starter: Bailey. The injury bug bit DeSclafani again, as he sustained a strained left oblique. Out of the remaining options, manager Bryan Price valued Bailey's extensive experience, despite his 6.43 ERA last year.

Twins: Jose Berrios

Ervin Santana could have been in line for his third straight Opening Day start for Minnesota, but that was before the recent surgery on his right middle finger. That leaves Berrios as the frontrunner following a breakout season. The 23-year-old could become the Twins' youngest Opening Day starting pitcher since Brad Radke in 1996, although Kyle Gibson -- or perhaps a late free-agent pickup -- could get the call instead.

Actual OD starter: Jake Odorizzi. Acquired from the Rays on Feb. 17, Odorizzi got the nod over both Berrios and free-agent acquisition Lance Lynn , in part due to the schedule. Minnesota wants Berrios to be on the mound on April 17 against the Indians in his native Puerto Rico, and starting the club's third game of the season will line him up for that assignment.