Left 4 Dead

Major League Baseball, like so many sports leagues around the world, is on indefinite hiatus because of the threat that is the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Opening Day has been pushed back to mid-May and it could be pushed back further depending how the next few weeks unfold. I expect us to have baseball at some point in 2020. I just don't know when, exactly. While we wait for the 2020 season begin, I thought it would be a good time to look ahead to the 2021 season. It's only 12 months away, after all. were in the proce s of naming their 2020 Opening Day starters when the shutdown was announced two weeks ago, so let's look ahead to next year, and figure out who could start the season opener for all 30 clubs. Shall we? Let's get to it. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: The Troy Daniels Jersey have a big-name ace in Bumgarner and while he is no longer at the tippy top of his game, he remains in his prime, and the team's best candidate to start Opening Day next year. Gallen is a major 2020 breakout candidate -- he had above-average swing-and-mi s rates on five (!) different pitches during his rookie season last year -- but the shutdown could mean we're headed for a shortened season, and he may not have enough time to jump Bumgarner in the rotation pecking order. Facundo Campazzo Jersey 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: Soroka had an incredible rookie season and has the tools to outperform his mediocre strikeout rate (7.3 K/9 in 2019) because he locates so well and has a bowling ball sinker. His league-leading 0.72 HR/9 was no accident. He's difficult to elevate. and has ties to GM Alex Anthopoulos dating back to their time with the . Atlanta reportedly made a run at Stroman at the trade deadline and I could see the team circling back in free agency this winter. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: The are relatively early in a deep rebuild and Means was their bright spot last season. . The O's are unlikely to spend money on a big-name free agent and I can't see them trading prospects for an established starter. As long as he stays healthy, Means is the odds-on favorite to get the ball for the 2021 season opener. Kremer, meanwhile, is Baltimore's best close-to-MLB pitching prospect. He reached Triple-A last season and has an out-pitch curveball. Kremer should make his MLB debut at some point in 2020. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: , which takes him out of the running for the 2021 Opening Day starter. Rodriguez is the best starter and it's not particularly close. is the closest challenger and he has been injured and enigmatic throughout his career. Given their luxury tax machinations and quasi-rebuild this year, I don't expect Boston to spend big in free agency this offseason. Ray could be an interesting mid-range free agent target though. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: Yu Darvish or ? Kyle Hendricks or Yu Darvish? That is the choice new manager David Ro s had to make prior to this spring's shutdown and it figures to be the choice he will have to NBA Denver Nuggets Jeresy make again next spring, after , , and all become free agents. (Lester's contract includes a vesting option based on innings, which is up in the air right now given the shutdown.) Alzolay is Chicago's best young MLB-ready arm, though it would be an upset if the 2021 Opening Day nod goes to someone other than Darvish or Hendricks. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: The have a former Cy Young winner under contract next year ( ) though Giolito is clearly their best pitcher, and Kopech could soon join him as co-ace. Giolito's breakout last year cemented him among the game's stop starters and Kopech is poised to join him in that tier as he returns from Tommy John surgery. He was arguably the best pitching prospect in the sport when he made his MLB debut in 2018 and he still boasts the Allen Iverson Jersey same power arsenal post-elbow reconstruction. Few teams have as exciting a young one-two punch atop the rotation as the ChiSox. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: The have had five different Opening Day starters in the last five years and Castillo figures to put an end to the revolving door whenever the 2020 season begins. He is emerging as one of the game's best starting pitchers thanks to his dead fish changeup and he could lock down the Opening Day spot for the next half-decade. had a huge bounceback season in 2019 and, if he does it again in 2020, he could wrestle the Opening Day a signment away from Castillo no matter how well Castillo pitches this year. Santillan is the closest thing Cincinnati has to a young starter who could arrive in 2020 and claim the ace position in short order. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: Bieber is already one of the best young starters in baseball and it still feels like he can take his game to another level. The develop pitching as well as any team and it may not be long before Bieber is a no-doubt top-five starter in the game. is too well-known to be a dark horse, especially when Plesac is sitting right there. Dan's nephew enjoyed a breakout 2019 season and he unleashed a new curveball in spring training before baseball got shut down. He may not have Bieber upside, but the tools are there for Plesac to continue getting better and cement his place in Cleveland's rotation. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: A bounceback 2020 season could put Denver native back in the Opening Day seat. For now, his terrible 2019 puts him behind Gray, who is already on the short list of the best pitchers in history. Aaron Cook, , , Jon Gray. Right? They're the best Rockies pitchers ever. I reckon will be a Isaiah Hartenstein Jersey trendy Cy Young pick this season (and next), but I'm going to go with Paxton as the dark horse here. He will be a free agent after the season and doesn't giving him a four-year contract seem like a cla sic weird Rockies move? It does. 2021 projected Opening Day starter: Dark horse: For a deep rebuilding team, the have several fun 2021 Opening Day starter candidates. Mize and Skubal are joined by to give Detroit three elite and nearly MLB-ready pitching prospects. In th