Jacob deGrom says he’ll be ready if Rangers ask him to pitch Opening Day
(Rangers Today/Jeff Wilson)
SURPRISE, Ariz. — The main attraction Monday at the Surprise Recreation Campus was not in the stadium, no offense to either the Rangers or Diamondbacks players.
Instead, Nolan Ryan Field was the place to be at 11:30 a.m. sharp, as right-hander Jacob deGrom threw in a game for the first time this spring.
Yes, it was a minor-league game on the Rangers’ main back field, but the bleachers were packed with fans visiting spring training and it seemed like every Rangers pitcher in big-league camp and some on the minor-league side crowded around to watch deGrom pitch.
Oh, by the way, Nathan Eovaldi made his mound return about 100 feet away. Plenty of seats were available.
The takeaway after each finished up was that arguably the Rangers’ top two starting pitchers looked good and felt good, and
If Pérez starts opening day over deGrom (4.43 vs 2.52 career ERAs, not to mentioned K/BB), I would start following the Astros instead. That would be a Greek tragedy.
It’s not all about numbers. Martin Perez did a lot for the franchise last year and is a clubhouse leader. An Opening Day start would be an acknowledgement of that, and would be popular with the players. It’s not all about the numbers, and it’s one game.
If you’re into numbers, though …
2022 ERAs: Perez, 2.89. DeGrom, 3.08.
FIPs, though…