Mike Soroka will be youngest Atlanta Braves Opening Day starting pitcher in team's modern era

The first matinee (Eastern time) of the coronavirus-shortened 60-game Major League Baseball season is a 4 p.m. ET start next Friday as the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets open their campaigns at Citi Field. ESPN has the national broadcast. The Mets project as around -130 favorites on the MLB odds at William Hill sportsbook, although that could change if ace Jacob deGrom can't go. More on that below.

Right-hander Mike Soroka will start for Atlanta barring a setback – and in this very unusual 2020 season, it's very important to consider all players as "probable" for a given game because if one happens to show a fever or test positive for COVID-19, they will not be playing. In addition, starting pitchers likely won't be nearly as important early in the season because they aren't stretched out like they would have been with a full spring training.

Still, at 22 years and 355 days old (he will be 23 on Aug. 4), Soroka will be the youngest Opening Day starter for the Braves in the franchise's modern era. Soroka finished a distant second to the Mets' Pete Alonso in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 as Soroka was 13-4 with 2.68 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and .236 opponents' batting average.

That 2.68 ERA was third in the National League and lowest by any rookie pitcher in the majors since Miami's Jose Fernandez had a 2.19 ERA over 28 starts in 2013. Soroka was utterly dominant on the road, going 7-1 with a 1.55 ERA over 16 starts. That road ERA was almost a full point lower than any other big-league starter.

Soroka made three starts vs. the Mets last year overall and was 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA. He is +3000 on the moneyline odds at William Hill to win the 2020 NL Cy Young.

The favorite on that NL Cy Young prop at +350 is the Mets' deGrom, who looks to join Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux as the only pitchers to win at least three straight Cy Young Awards. DeGrom was 11-8 with a 2.43 ERA (first in NL) last year in winning his second in a row and carries a 23-inning scoreless streak into 2020.

However, it's possible he could be scratched as deGrom left an intrasquad appearance after one inning Tuesday due to back tightness. The right-hander was scheduled to go at least five innings. If the team doesn't think he's stretched out enough, it certainly will be extra cautious and push deGrom's season debut back. He was 1-2 with a 3.08 ERA in four starts vs. Atlanta a year ago.

Ariel Cohen's Fantasy baseball projections are extremely high on a first baseman some are overlooking. He's set to hit double-digit home runs during the 60-game 2020 MLB season, but is being picked well outside the top 200 in early Fantasy baseball drafts. You ABSOLUTELY need to see what the ATC system has to say about each player before going on the clock.