Chris Paddack vowed he would make this happen.
“I will be the opening-day starter, 100 percent,” he said in January.
The cocksure 24-year-old Texan did everything in his power to make it so, and while the honor comes almost four months later than expected, Paddack on Monday was officially named the starter for the first game of the season Friday against the Diamondbacks.
“It was one of my goals for the offseason, to come into 2020 and show this organization I wanted to be the No. 1 guy,” Paddack said. “But we had a little meeting earlier, and we’re tied for first with 60 games to go.