Carlos Martinez

Carlos Martinez taking over the Cardinals' mound for Opening Day

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez has been named the Opening Day starter.

What It Means:

Martinez will replace Adam Wainwright, who has toed the rubber for St. Louis for each of the past four Opening Day assignments. The 25-year-old right-hander posted a 3.04 ERA and 21.5 strikeout percentage across 195 1/3 innings last season, taking over as the ace in the Cardinals' clubhouse.

numberFire's algorithms project Martinez to record a 3.33 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 23.2 strikeout percentage over 202 2/3 innings in 2017.