Since the site has been overtaken by Opening Day starter announcements, here’s one more: C.J. Wilson will get the Game 1 assignment for the Rangers.
A year ago at this time Wilson was a reliever trying to convince the Rangers he should get a chance to join the rotation and now he’s the Opening Day starter for the defending American League champs, which speaks to just how impressive he was last season (and also to Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies, of course).
Wilson went 15-8 with a 3.35 ERA in 33 starts despite being exclusively a reliever since mid-2005. He struggled to consistently throw strikes at times, leading the league with 93 walks in 204 innings, but racked up 170 strikeouts and held opponents to a .217 batting average while serving up just 10 homers in 850 plate appearances.
Wilson gets the nod over Colby Lewis, with Brandon Webb, Tommy Hunter, and Derek Holland expected to fill out the rest of the rotation (assuming that Webb is healthy by Opening Day). Texas’ starter on Opening Day last season is actually still on the roster, but Scott Feldman went 7-11 with a 5.48 ERA and is struggling to come back from knee surgery.