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You might want to sit down before you read this.
Jhoulys Chacin is going to be the Brewers’ Opening Day starter/Initial intial-out-getter.
Try not to pass out from the shock.
Even though it was a safe assumption given the way the roster looked and how guys performed last year, Craig Counsell made the official announcement to reporters today, two weeks before the Brewers open the 2019 Championship Season at Miller Park against the St. Louis Cardinals.
It's official and unsurprising: #Brewers manager Craig Counsell names Jhoulys Chacin as opening day starter.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) March 14, 2019
Chacin last pitched on Opening Day in 2017, when the San Diego Padres gave him the honor. He also started on Opening Day in 2013 with the Colorado Rockies.
He’ll be opposite Miles Mikolas, who the Cardinals wasted no time in announcing as their starter for the first game of the season.
As for the way the rest of the rotation is shaking out, Counsell has declined to say, but in one of my favorite Spring Training traditions, Adam McCalvy has been trying to figure out the rotation order, which will inevitably lead Counsell to accuse McCalvy of witchcraft:
Check that! Anderson is lined up third right now. Chacin pitched Monday against the White Sox, Davies Tuesday night against the Giants and Anderson today against the Indians. Again, we don’t yet know if that’s how the Brewers plan to roll out their starters in the regular season.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 13, 2019
That’s a top three that would make a lot of sense. Who fills the last two spots in the rotation is still likely anyone’s guess, with Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff in the running.