Brewers' Opening Day game vs. Mets rescheduled for Friday

NEW YORK -- The Brewers will have to wait one extra day for Opening Day. But it'll be worth the wait.

Thursday afternoon's season opener against the Mets at Citi Field has been postponed due to forecasted rain in New York. The game is rescheduled to Friday at 12:40 p.m. CT.

• Opening Day FAQ: Brewers vs. Mets

Now, here's what fans have to look forward to Friday: Freddy Peralta's first career Opening Day start for Milwaukee. Rhys Hoskins' first game in a Brewers uniform. And -- best of all -- top prospect Jackson Chourio's highly anticipated MLB debut.

Manager Pat Murphy confirmed Wednesday that the 20-year-old Chourio, MLB's No. 2 overall prospect entering 2024, will start in right field for the Brewers on Opening Day. Chourio will be the youngest Brewer to debut on Opening Day since Robin Yount in 1974.

Murphy also laid out the Brewers' starting rotation plans for the series against the Mets. Peralta, stepping into the role of staff ace, will still get the ball for Game 1, just pushed back by a day. It will be the first time in the last five seasons that Milwaukee's Opening Day starter isn't Corbin Burnes or Brandon Woodruff.

Electric young left-hander DL Hall, who arrived in the Burnes trade, will start Saturday, making his Brewers debut. Colin Rea will pitch Sunday's series finale.

"They just told me, 'Be ready,'" Hall said Wednesday. "To be here on Opening Day, it's a feeling you can't really describe. That's a goal of mine that I've had for a long time."

The 25-year-old, who pitched as a reliever in his first two big league seasons in Baltimore, used Spring Training to prepare for a role in the Brewers' starting rotation in 2024.

"I'm built up. I'm ready to go," Hall said. "[My expectation for 2024 is] to be available every fifth day as a starter. Just be able to go out and toe the rubber -- stay healthy and be here with the team for 162 games. That's a huge goal of mine, is to be able to be a starter and pitch all year."

With Chourio ready to debut and Hall ready to go in the rotation, the Brewers have one last decision to make before Opening Day: How to fill the 26th spot on the roster.

Milwaukee has one opening left due to outfielder Garrett Mitchell's fractured left hand that he suffered just days before the regular-season opener.

The Brewers have yet to announce who will take Mitchell's spot on the Opening Day roster, but utility infielder Oliver Dunn and right-handed reliever J.B. Bukauskas both had lockers in the visitors’ clubhouse at Citi Field on Wednesday, the team's workout day before the opening series.

Dunn seems likely to make the team -- having him in the Majors as an extra infielder would let the Brewers move Sal Frelick back to the outfield full-time to replace Mitchell.

But if the Crew’s bullpen ends up being taxed in Game 1, or a reliever suffers an injury, the club might want an extra arm. Bukauskas could be recalled in that case.

Brewers fans who were planning to come to Opening Day in New York and had tickets for Thursday can use them for the rescheduled game Friday. Citi Field gates open at 11:40 a.m. ET and parking lots open at 10:40 a.m. ET.