Opening Day is finally here, and the Cleveland Guardians will kick off the 2026 regular season with a series against the Seattle Mariners starting on Thursday.

There has been plenty of speculation, predictions, and projections during the offseason and throughout spring training about what Cleveland’s lineup would look like to begin the year, and that time has finally come.

Here is the Opening Day lineup that Guardians manager Stephen Vogt submitted to begin the season:

After seeing plenty of time in center field during Spring Training, Steven Kwan is playing his first game of the 2026 season in left field, with Daniel Schneemann filling in at center. 

This doesn’t mean that the Guardians have given up on the Kwan-CF experiment, but Vogt did say that the Gold Glove outfielder would get reps in both positions, whichever one helps Cleveland beat that day’s starter. 

Clearly, the Guardians want Schneemann in the lineup, and it makes the most sense for him to play center, so Kwan will slide over to left.  

One of the biggest questions heading into the regular season was, where would the Guardians have Chase DeLauter in their lineup? 

There was an argument to have him hit further down in the lineup to give Jose Ramirez more protection, but Vogt ultimately has him sandwiched between J-Ram and Kwan, which should theoretically be best for all three players.

Another interesting piece of the puzzle the Guardians had to determine was where newcomer Rhys Hoskins would hit in the lineup.

Hoskins, one of the few pure right-handed hitters in Cleveland’s lineup, is hitting sixth in the lineup. With Seattle having a right-hander on the mound in Logan Gilbert, this decision makes sense. However, when the Guardians are facing a lefty, expect Hoskins to be hitting much higher. 

Of course, this won’t be the only lineup that the Guardians use in 2026, but it's still interesting to see how all of Cleveland’s offseason work and plans came together. 

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