It’s a full slate today for minor-league Opening Day — first time since 2010 — as the Chiefs host the RailRiders, the Senators visit the BaySox, the P-Nats visit the Mudcats, and the Suns host the R-Braves.
Well, weather permitting. As of this writing, it’s 27 degrees in Central NY with a first-pitch forecast of 44 degrees. There’s a 30% chance of rain in the late afternoon in Zebulon, a 40% chance at gametime in Bowie, and a 60% chance in Hagerstown.
| Team | Today’s Game | Pitching Matchup (’13 Stats at Level) |
| Syracuse | vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 2:00 p.m. |
Danny Rosenbaum (7-11, 3.87) vs. Bruce Billings (13-8, 4.31) |
| Harrisburg | @ Bowie, 6:35 p.m. |
Blake Schwartz (11-4, 2.65 at A+) vs. Ed Rodriguez (4-3, 4.22) |
| Potomac | @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m. |
Brian Rauh (4-2, 4.22) vs. Shawn Morimando (8-13, 3.73) |
| Hagerstown | vs. Rome, 6:35 p.m. |
Nick Pivetta (0-1, 3.38 @ SS-A) vs. Francois Lefreniere (7-13, 5.36) |
Just the annual reminder: These pitchers are not necessarily the team’s #1 starter. They are, within a slot or two, how the Nationals would like the starters to align from Low-A to MLB in the event of promotions or injuries.
Based on what I’ve been able to gather, here’s how the rest of the starting rotations will round out:
| TEAM | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Syracuse | Hill | Tatusko | Treinen | Poveda |
| Harrisburg | Rivero | Gilliam | Purke | Cole |
| Potomac | Pena | Mooneyham | Encarnacion | Lee |
| Hagerstown | Voth | Giolito | Silvestre | Johansen |
As semi-predicted in the P-Nats roster reveal, Pena and Rauh have indeed returned to starting, with Ian Dickson and Dakota Bacus returning to bullpen roles. It’s natural to speculate as to who “benefited” by Sammy Solis’s latest trip to the DL, but we’ll never know for sure (yes, I can be that certain; there’s no legitimate reason to ever tell anyone outside the organization that information).
As implied in the comments, these rotations are quite likely to be short-lived — if past history holds, four or five turns max before guys are shifted around, which of course, will be tracked in either separate posts like yesterday or in the daily News & Notes, which returns tomorrow