8/8/20: Open Game Thread

The time has come: Nick Margevicius is set to take the mound for his first start in a Seattle uniform tonight. Margevicius, who started in 12 games for San Diego last year, is only 24 years old but carries just a 6.82 K/9 for his career and is often described as a “finesse lefty.” He’ll have to show some significant improvements to prove himself to be more than a depth arm going forward.

The Rockies also have a youngster on the mound today, with 24-year-old right-hander Ryan Castellani making his first-ever MLB appearance. Castellani is the 8th-ranked prospect by Baseball America in their 2020 mid-season update, and apparently had to have season-ending surgery to remove bone chips in his arm last year. Prior to that operation, Castellani posted a 8.31 ERA in 10 starts in the nightmarish Pacific Coast League. Based on the environment he was performing in, I wouldn’t read too much into that obscene number.

Here’s a scouting report courtesy of Fangraphs from this past winter:

Could be an interesting one!

Let’s get you some injury updates for today as well.

With Kendall Graveman expected to miss “significant time” we could be seeing more than just one start from Margevicius; if we’re lucky, we might even get some Logan Gilbert during that span (don’t count on it).

Scoreboard Watch

Usually, “scoreboard watching” is reserved for a playoff hunt. Instead, we’re focusing our watch on the hunt for the No. 1 overall draft pick next year. The M’s enter today tied for the second-worst record in the league. The Pittsburgh Pirates are holding down the fort in the basement, and they’re doing it with pride.

Lineups

Now let’s get to the good stuff. Well, not the best stuff — our good pal Dylan Moore is getting the day off today. As is Austin Nola, as Divish mentioned above.

Game Info

Game time: 6:10 p.m.

TV: ROOT Sports Northwest and MLB.tv

Radio: 710 ESPN Seattle