Happy Opening Day!

The Blue Jays and Yankees kick things off in the Bronx as Drew Hutchison faces Masahiro Tanaka. Hutchison is an interesting choice for opening day on baseball’s biggest stage. He posted impressive three-true outcomes at all levels of the minor leagues, and in his first season in the majors. His MLB ERA has not reflected that success, however. With men on base, he allowed a .481 slugging percentage, versus .380 with the bases empty. He giving up long hits when they do the most damage. That may be a maturity issue, but at seasonal age 24 the Blue Jays put him in the role of an ace. Tanaka plays with an iffy elbow. He says his velocity won’t be back this year. That’s okay, as plenty of pitchers found success with slower stuff and deception.

I very much like the AL Central this season, and the Twins at the Tigers is a bit of a David versus Goliath game. The Twins should be better this season as they send Phil Hughes against David Price. Hughes found his control in 2014, walking just 16 batters in 209 2/3 innings, fitting into the Twins philosophy perfectly. At the same time, he lowered his home run rate as well. Price turned into a work horse, logging 248 1/3 innings for the Rays and Tigers in 2014. That’s 24 more inning that he ever threw before in the regular season. He struck out 9.8 per nine innings, over one K per 9 IP better than his career average.

Max Scherzer makes his Washington debut as Bartolo Colon leads the Mets against the Nationals. Colon will be 42 in a few weeks, but managed to throw nearly 400 innings over the last two seasons. He still commands the strike zone, walking just 59 batters in that time frame. Only Price has a better walk rate since the start of 2013. Scherzer uses his power pitching to keep his ERA low. Combined with a high scoring Detroit lineup, he owns the highest winning percentage in the majors over the last two seasons.

While there was plenty of hype about the Cubs Sunday night, the White Sox are also a greatly improved team. Jeff Samardzija leads the south siders into Kansas City to face Yordano Ventura. Samardzija was part of the failed Oakland plan of revamping their rotation to make the playoffs. The Samardzija, like Jon Lester, pitched well, but was not supported. He gives the White Sox a solid front three in the rotation. Ventura signed a nice extension, making him a millionaire and helping the Royals control costs. A right-handed pitcher, he exhibited a reverse platoon advantage so far in his career.

The best pitching matchup of the day might be Jered Weaver against Felix Hernandez in Seattle. The Mariners improved once again and look ready to take the AL West crown from the Angels. Despite an off-year for Weaver in 2014, he still managed an 18-9 record. His 27 home runs allowed were a career high, but starting the season in Seattle should lessen that weakness. King Felix turned in the most innings and lowest ERA of his career in 2014. He held batters to a .231 OBP at home last season.

James Shields begins his Padres career in Los Angeles against Clayton Kershaw. (I supposed having to face Kershaw a number of times during a season would be a reason not to sign with the Padres.) Shields pitched well for the Royals in his two years there, making the Wil Myers trade seem better in retrospect. Myers will be behind Shields in the outfield today. Kershaw is the best in the game right now. He led the NL in ERA four years in a row, the last two seasons with ERAs under 2.00. He struck out nearly five times as many as he walked, and is very stingy with the home run ball.

The Indians extended their new ace, Corey Kluber, and he opens the season in Houston against Dallas Keuchel. Kluber, by the way, is not young. He plays this season as a 29-year-old, making him more of a late bloomer. His 2014 season combined stamina (three complete games), power (269 K), and support (18-9 record) to make him the highlight of the Cleveland season. Keuchel had a lower level break-out year, posting a 2.93 ERA, and helped the Astros improve by 19 games.

Finally, playoff hero Madison Bumgarner leads the Giants into Arizona to face Josh Collmenter. Bumgarner made six starts and a five inning relief appearance in the playoffs. His strikeout rate was lower than during the regular season, but he allowed just one walk per nine innings pitched, and help the opposition to a .219 slugging percentage. Opponents were just 2 for 24 against him with runners in scoring position. Collmenter had his first full season of play since 2011. He allows the ball to be put in play, but keeps his walks low so the hits don’t do too much damage.

Enjoy!