Spring Stories: Who gets the Opening Day start?

Not sure who will get the start but the closest thing we've had to an "ace" in a generation will probably come into the game in the 8th or 9th inning.

Agree.....Gray!

(Of course....we need to get all of these guys TO the start of the regular season.....)

I say Ryan - he had it last  year and he gave us a good season.  He is going to be with us a long time (I hope) and it would be great to see him out there again as a reward. 

We just discussed this a couple weeks ago. What is the point of doing it again?

Probably where everyone is at by the end of spring training will play the biggest role.  But all things being equal I would agree Gray based on veteran-ness and performance last year.

If there is a rough 1-5 order I think they might continue with Lopez, Ryan, Mahle, and Maeda.  Honestly all 5 of those guys probably have close to equal odds of being the Twins' best starter at the end of the year though (for better or worse).

I'd go Pagan as a opener. Like the Rays use. 

I think it comes down to health and how everyone is doing. All things being equal, I would give the game to Gray. But I also think there is no wrong choice.

30 minutes ago, HoskenPowell said:

I'd go Pagan as a opener. Like the Rays use. 

I hope Pagan has a great season for the Twins and surprises 99% of us at TD. I'm pulling for him. 

19 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

While I know you were being funny, I still had to dislike this on two points … the use of an opener and the use of Pagan in that position. It’s just too horrifying to laugh!

I'm glad we are having fun with it because of all the spring training questions, at this point, who opens as the starter is the last thing on my mind. And I share your horror of the word Pagan. Maybe was the Pagan god of stress .. 

I'm going with last year's opening day starter in Joe Ryan.  He's earned it plus we are playing the Royals one of the weaker teams.  Ryan was very good against the poor teams and generally bad against the good teams.  Everyone talks about the depth of starters for the Twins.  Years we have decent veterans.  Everyone in the starting rotation has injury issues past or present.  If they perform to their ability the Twins will be fine.  But if they pitch to the mediocre side it could be awful.  It's a staff that can go either way.  I'm hoping they do well because the pitching is so important.

My mind weighs 2 things. One is how much do I care about the rotation order to theoretically get an extra start for my best pitcher(s) and/or match up with other teams' best starters?  I don't know that this matters a lot now.  Managers, especially Rocco, like to stick with a schedule and actually look to minimize usage rather than maximize it and since there are so many off days in April, teams have their rotations lose alignment pretty quickly so by mid-May, the matchups are off anyway.  So that leaves the second thing which is what it symbolizes.  When healthy, Gray is the better pitcher so Rocco could send  the message that the best player plays.  However, due to his age and very good start to his young career, Ryan is the most likely to be part of this rotation down the road so the message could be "you're our guy".  

I'm old school enough that I would choose the best pitcher and would go with Sonny which promotes the message of "we aim to win this year and we're starting the season with our best".

2 minutes ago, rationalfan said:

...there are so many off days in April...

This year's April is atypical. There are only 3 off days from the start of the season on 3/30 until 4/30. Those dates: 3/31, 4/7, and 4/17. 29 games in the first 32 days of the season.

Grey for me. 

If the Twins carry the traditional five-man rotation, and there's only one off-day between the Season Opener and the Home Opener (that being the day after the Season Opener) then the #2 starter will open the season at home. But that also means then the Opening Day starter would not pitch against the reigning World Series champs (Astros) at home that first homestand (they'd pitch the lone night game against the White Sox.) So just some extra layers to work out.

I think Sonny Gray is the correct choice, great article very interesting read.

Whoever between Lopez, Gray, or Ryan that looks better in spring training.

The starter should be the winner of 2 out of three if paper, rock and scissors .  That’s usually the best way to settle a 5 way tie.

I think it'd Lopez, primarily because he has had a head start getting ready for WBC. But still it could depend if he'd get enough rest prior to slot into there.

I'm lining up rotation for White Sox series, starting with Ryan in Opener, then Gray, Mahle, Kenta, Lopez (vs. former team), back around, Gray gets Home Opener, and White Sox series set up for Lopez, Ryan and Gray.  White Sox being the div favorite, set the tone early with a series win at home!

Gray deserves the honor of being the opening day starter, as he was the one of the most reliable twins pitchers last year WHEN he was on the felid. At 33, he likely has only has a few seasons left, although he may well be one of the pitchers who stays around a long time. All depends on how his spring goes though.

Starting Rotation should be:

1.Gray

2.Lopez

3.Ryan

4.Mahle

5.Maeda