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Who is the Chicago Cubs 2017 Opening Day Starting Pitcher?

By Dan Schmelzer

Jun 12, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (34) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 12, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (34) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Who will start on Opening Day for the Chicago Cubs?

The Chicago Cubs will open their 2017 season on Sunday, April 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs and Cardinals will face in one of the three games on the actual Opening Day slate. The rest of the league will kick off their seasons on Monday.

Fresh off of their first World Series championship in 108 years, the Cubs are clearly one of the best teams in baseball. They have a loaded offense, elite defense and rock-solid pitching. In fact, there were three pitchers who easily could have been selected to start for the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day.

2015 Cy Young award winner Jake Arrieta and 2016 ERA leader Kyle Hendricks deserve consideration, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon went with veteran Jon Lester to be the ace of his staff.

Lester is a strong and stable veteran pitcher who was absolutely instrumental in the Cubs’ postseason run. He was a bonafide ace for the team down the stretch, consistently dominating the opposing team’s lineup in the biggest spots.

Lester was not only a force for the Cubs in the postseason, he was fantastic in the 2016 regular season as well. In 32 starts, Lester went 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA. Lester struck out nearly 25% of the batters that he faces and walked only 6.5%. He was absolutely incredible for the 2016 Chicago Cubs and came in second place in National League Cy Young voting.

It will be interesting to see how Lester works with new catcher Willson Contreras on opening night. Lester is used to having David Ross exclusively as his personal catcher behind the plate. After a storybook ending to his career, Ross is now busy starring on Dancing with the Stars.

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Contreras is an extremely talented player, but will him and Lester have issues getting familiar with each other? It will certainly be a story to watch early in the season.

When it comes down to it, Jon Lester is the ace pitcher of the Chicago Cubs. Arrieta or Hendricks would have been fine choices to start on Opening Day, but Lester is the right choice.

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