No matter what you do, you should always put your best foot forward. In baseball terms, you go with your best arm. In the case of the Milwaukee Brewers, for manager Pat Murphy, he is putting his best arm forward by appointing Freddy Peralta as the Brewers Opening Day starter.

And though this is his second time getting the nod for the opener, Peralta was all smiles — as if it were the very first time.

“I was in the hallway yesterday, coming back from working out,” Peralta recalled, “and he [Murphy] just told me, ‘Hey, I just did this.' I was like, ‘Hey! It's not even the first day!' He was smiling, a big smile on his face. And he makes me happy, too, knowing that it's going to happen again.”

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The 2025 campaign will be Murphy's second season at the helm in Milwaukee, serving in a role he was promoted in to after Craig Counsell's shocking departure to the Chicago Cubs. It's no wonder Murphy is smiling; his Brewers won the National League Central and are strongly equipped to retain their crown. Nevertheless, it will be tough for the Brewers' skipper to top his freshman season; after all, Murphy was the National League Manager of the Year.

If the Brewers are to retain their division title, Peralta will need to have another strong year on the mound. The right-handed Peralta has been a mainstay in Milwaukee's rotation for the past four seasons. In 2024, Peralta set some personal benchmarks, including a career-high 32 starts with 173 2/3 innings pitched. Peralta worked to a 3.68 ERA, and his ERA+ of 114 was his best since 2021. Unique for a right-handed pitcher, Peralta is dominant against left-handed batters. Lefty swingers collectively slashed .209/.288/.332 in 2024, while right-handed batters had an OPS of just .771.

Entering his age-29 season, Peralta will guide a Brewers staff that features former Cleveland Guardians hurler Aaron Civale and trade acquisition Nestor Cortes. Milwaukee will also see Brandon Woodruff return to the rotation at some point. As he recovered from shoulder surgery, Woodruff missed the entire 2024 campaign.

The Peralta-led Brewers will head to the Bronx for their Opening Day game against the New York Yankees on March 27.