Major League Baseball

A's name fresh-faced 'veteran' Sonny Gray Opening Day starter

Published Mar. 16, 2015 1:01 p.m. ET

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Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin named his 2015 Opening Day starter on Monday morning, and it's the same man who held that title in 2014: right-hander Sonny Gray.

The 25-year-old will make his second Opening Day start as a member of the A's, a designation that really says something when you consider the non-stop roster churning that GM Billy Beane put the A's through over the past few months.

Recall that the 2014 A's boasted a rotation down the stretch that featured Gray, Scott Kazmir, Jeff Samardzija, Jon Lester and Jason Hammel — four of them bona fide veterans.

Despite his youth, Gray has become something of a 'veteran leader' on the A's if only because he's still on the team. That fact wasn't lost on manager Bob Melvin, who echoed the sentiment to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:

“He doesn’t look like a veteran, but he is,” Melvin said. “For a guy who sat back and did his thing and performed, pitched like a veteran from the moment he was here, now he’s actually taking on a little more of that role, as he should.”

Gray, too, understands his unique position, since he's now in his fourth year with the A's organization.

“Yeah, it’s a little different because a lot of these guys are my age or even a year older,” Gray said. “But this is my fourth camp and I know how things work. I kind of know what’s going on with a lot of stuff. I like it — I like having a little bit of seniority, being the guy to ask questions.”

As he continues developing as an A's on-field leader, Gray admits that things are drastically different off the field now that he has become a father:

Outside the field I feel totally different,” Gray said. “Every decision you make is based on the baby. When I’m here at the field, I try to leave everything else back at home. But he’s been so fun. It was a fun offseason.”

Considering the A's never-ending youth movement, Gray is also looking forward to watching fellow young players start carving out their own roles in the organization:

“I was fortunate enough to make it up at a pretty young age, and I can’t wait to see all these guys compete, what they’re going to do in games,” Gray said. “There’s so much talent, I can’t wait to get things started.”

Having already achieved a lot in his tenure with the A's, 2015 could be the year Gray makes the leap to premier American League pitcher. With a second consecutive Opening Day start under his belt, why not?

(H/T SF Chronicle)