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To be honest, when I asked who should replace Merrill Kelly on Opening Day, I was largely anticipating a two-horse race between Ryne Nelson and Zac Gallen. But, in the end, it turned out to be more like a one and a half horse race. Or one and a third. Regardless of
how you care to slice up your equines, the people of the SnakePit have made their choice known, in no uncertain fashion. Here’s how the votes broke down:
But perhaps it’s not quite as unprecedented as it seems. Nelson turned 28 on the first of last month. If he were to get the nod, he would only be the seventh youngest Opening Day starter in franchise history. Zac Gallen was only 27 when he made his first Opening Day start for Arizona in 2023. The record holder is actually Ian Kennedy from 2011: he was only aged 26, as was Brandon Webb when he got the nod in 2006. Several also have considerably less experience than Nelson. He has made 78 starts: Kennedy had only 44 on his Opening Day. Wade Miley is another one – when he took the mound on Opening Day 2014, he had 69 starts under his belt. Josh Collmenter in 2015? 63 starts, despite being 29 years old.
But will Torey Lovullo and the team choose to go there next month? There has been very little word out of the team since the announcement it would not be Merrill Kelly. Gallen obviously has the edge in experience, and it promises to be a raucous endeavor, pitching in Dodger Stadium before a crowd which just watched their team get World Series rings and hoist a banner. On the other hand, Nelson has done well in that park, with a career 1.20 ERA. However, he has just one start there, on May 20th, where he allowed one run over five innings. Though to be fair, the other two outings were behind openers, and also went five innings.
It’ll be interesting to see, not just what decision Lovullo makes, but also the rationale he provides for his choice. I just hope he doesn’t end up leaving it till the last minute, as we saw last year how that can backfire.
