Opening Day!
It’s a full slate today for minor-league Opening Day for the second straight season as the Chiefs visit the RailRiders, the Senators host the Curve, the P-Nats host the Hillcats, and the Suns visit the Crawdads.
Well, weather permitting. Again. The first-pitch forecast is 47 degrees and a 50% chance of rain in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre; 50 and 45% in Harrisburg, 55 and 35% chance in Woodbridge, and 75 and 85% in Zebulon, NC.
| Team | Today’s Game | Pitching Matchup (’14 Stats at Level) |
| Syracuse | @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 7:05 p.m. |
Cole (6-3, 2.92) vs. Mitchell (4-2, 3.67) |
| Harrisburg | vs. Altoona, 6:30 p.m. |
Voth (1-3, 6.52) vs. A. Sanchez (0-2, 4.32) |
| Potomac | vs. Lynchburg, 7:05 p.m. |
Pivetta (13-8, 4.22 @ Low-A) vs. Baker (3-3, 4.05) |
| Hagerstown | @ Hickory, 7:00 p.m. |
A. Williams (4-3, 4.66 @ SS-A) vs. Jurado (2-1, 1.62 @ AZL) |
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 (or been told, H/T Mayflies’ Mick Reinhard), here’s how the rest of the starting rotations will round out:
| TEAM | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Syracuse | Jordan | Hill | McGregor | Billings |
| Harrisburg | Ross | Espino | Alderson | Swynenberg |
| Potomac | Rauh | Schwartz | TBD | TBD |
| Hagerstown | Bach | L. Reyes | TBD | TBD |
Obviously, there’s some intrigue as to who will start Games 4 and 5 for the “A” teams. Potomac, for example, has Nick Lee, Matthew Spann, Dakota Bacus, and Wander Suero as candidates while Hagerstown has R.C. Orlan, Drew Van Orden, and Andrew Cooper. As the press release cycle starts up, we’ll know more.
And another reminder: These rotations are very likely to be short-lived, especially with the likes of Reynaldo Lopez, Robbie Dickey, Jefry Rodriguez, and some other guy expected to arrive within three weeks or so.
Now that the nats minors is starting, I’ll likely shift my listening to upper minors chiefs and senators. Might listen to Chiefs tonight as I’m interested in getting more than box score mountaintop view of that prospect.