Ron Washington announced today that left handed starter C.J. Wilson will be Texas' opening day starting pitcher this year when the defending American League champion Rangers take on the Boston Red Sox at home on April 1.
↵Wilson went 15-8 for the Rangers last year while posting a 3.35 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and .217 BAA. Wilson did walk a fair share of batters last year, issuing 93 walks in 204 innings. The converted relief pitcher struck out 170 batters.
↵Wilson's only competition for the Opening Day start was Colby Lewis, thanks to Cliff Lee signing with the Philadelphia Phillies over the offseason. Lewis went 12-13 last year, a very, very deceiving record. Lewis posted a better WHIP than Wilson with a 1.19 WHIP while holding opponents to a .227 batting average. Lewis struck out 196 batters and walked only 65 in 201 innings of work.
↵It's not surprising that Wilson gets the Opening Day nod, and really, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter. It likely means a lot to Wilson who hadn't started a game since 2005 before becoming a starting pitcher for Texas last year.
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