Banister: Nick Martinez Wins Rotations Spot

Today, Jeff Banister has announced what many of us were fairly certain of several days ago: Nick Martinez will be the 5th pitcher in the starting rotation to start the 2015 season.

In a competition that included Martinez, Nick Tepesch, Alex Gonzalez, Anthony Ranaudo, and Lisavlverto Bonilla. Gonzalez and Ranaudo have already been assigned to minor league camp, while Bonilla is still being considered for the long-relief role to start the season.

Nick Tepesch will start today's game against the Dodgers. It could be that he starts the season at Triple-A Round Rock. Tepesch, who has often struggled to get through the lineup the third time around in his starts, may be asked to work on adding another pitch to his repertoire in order to keep hitters off-balance later in games. Barring that, he could be considered for the long-relief role as well, a role that would seem to fit his current arsenal.

Gonzalez showed flashes of potential before being assigned to minor league camp, and it's likely that decision was partially driven on an ability to maintain another year of club control if he isn't called up until April. Should the rotation struggle heading into may, or worse, an injury occurs, there's a decent chance that Gonzalez could get a look.

Regardless, it appears the rotation -- once again, barring injury -- is set for the beginning of the season. We'll Derek Holland, Yovani Gallardo, Colby Lewis, Ross Detwiler, and Nick Martinez. Gallardo will get the Opening Day assignment on April 6, while Holland is penciled in to pitch the home opener on April 10.