A refresher course on every NL Opening Day starter
A refresher course on the NL Opening Day starters
The new season is just around the corner, but we're not counting on MLB's 30 teams to hold an ice breaker scavenger hunt and properly acquaint themselves with every fan in America.
With that in mind, we went ahead and drew up a little cheat sheet to re-introduce you to the guys who will be on the bump for the National League ballclubs come Game 1 of 162. (Check out the AL edition here.)
Braves: Julio Teheran
This 24-year-old Colombian right-hander has one of the most impressive pickoff moves in the game. He's caught 14 runners in the last two seasons, so don't panic if he allows some early singles. He's got opposing runners right where he wants them.
Brewers: Kyle Lohse
For the first time since 2009, it's someone who isn't Yovani Gallardo. Lohse is the longtime Cardinal who ditched St. Louis for Brew Town in 2013. Twenty-four wins later, Lohse and his 14 years of experience will take the mound on Opening Day.
Cardinals: Adam Wainwright
You know him, you love him ... Waino is the guy who's been the ace of the Cards rotation for most of the last decade. Though you might not recognize him without his American flag face paint, you probably still have his "Frozen" cover stuck in your head. Let it go, let it goooooo ...
Cubs: Jon Lester
The man GM Theo Epstein brought in to break the Curse of the Billy Goat. Kind of like how college football coaches bring their offensive coordinators with them or how David O. Russell puts Bradley Cooper in every movie now.
D-backs: Josh Collmenter
The guy with the beard that throws a killer cutter like he's a cricket bowler.
Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw
The best pitcher alive. Period.
Giants: Madison Bumgarner
He's the Paul Bunyan of pitchers. By the time we all tell our grandkids about Bumgarner's 2014 World Series MVP performance, he'll have walked to and from the games (uphill both ways) and thrown a total of 50 scoreless innings over seven games. Also, he's the guy with the underwear from The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.
Marlins: Henderson Alvarez
With phenom Jose Fernandez still working his way back from surgery, Alvarez will keep the top of the rotation warm for the Fish. He's the guy with the crazy windup who got to celebrate his no-hitter from the on-deck circle when Giancarlo Stanton scored on a walk-off wild pitch.
Mets: Bartolo Colon
Every explanation of Bartolo Colon should start and end with the belly GIF, but in case you need more than that ... if Matt Harvey is the Dark Knight, and Jacob deGrom is Robin, then Colon is Alfred.
Nationals: Max Scherzer
The former Tigers standout with a Cy Young in his pocket who hasn't been on the cover of a video game. Scherzer's gonna be the Opening Day starter even though he's the new kid in town and the Nats had the best rotation in baseball last season. He's that good.
Padres: James Shields
"Big Game" James Shields is the SoCal native who came up just short with the Royals in 2014. He's a workhorse who's logged more innings than any pitcher since 2007 and is, um, the opposite of stoic. Shields will yell, fist-pump and salute his way through a million innings for the Padres this season.
Phillies: Cole Hamels
You know him. You love him. He's the 2008 World Series MVP. Yes he's still a Phillie and he's starting on Opening Day for the second time in his career. And if the baseball thing doesn't work out for him, he has a burgeoning career on the catwalk to fall back on.
Pirates: Francisco Liriano
This is the same guy that started Opening Day last year and threw six shutout innings as the Buccos earned the first of their 88 regular-season wins. Also, he was the winning pitcher in the 2013 Wild Card Game that was Pittsburgh's first taste of postseason baseball in more than 20 years.
Reds: Johnny Cueto
The guy with the hair. Now that Mo'ne Davis has changed things up, Cueto has the best dreads of anyone to grace a pitching mound. In his last two full seasons (2012, '14), Cueto is 39-18 with a 2.50 ERA. He's among the best starting pitchers in the NL right now.
Rockies: Kyle Kendrick
Remember that otherworldly rotation that the Phillies managed to assemble a few years back? Well, Kendrick was the fifth Beatle on that squad for a few years. His 74-68 record and 4.42 lifetime ERA are serviceable, but even a No. 1 record off his first album as the frontman for a new band wouldn't help him shake that "fifth Beatle" label.