Some things about the Phillies are secrets. Normally, around the trade deadline when we’re desperate for as much information as possible, the team is one of the more locked up teams in terms of leaked information around the game. Even now, with the season approaching at a rapid pace, there are questions surrounding the team.

When will Andrew Painter return to the rotation? What will the starting lineup be for Opening Day? Who is going to get the bulk of save opportunities for the team?

What isn’t a secret is who the Opening Day starter will be that takes the hill for the Phillies when the games start to count.

Zack Wheeler being the one who takes the mound for the Phillies in the first game of the season is not a surprise. It’s a largely ceremonial honor of course, but the players themselves take the honor very seriously.

It’s also kind of a weird way for the team to announce it, in the hours after the football team in the city won their championship. Normally, you’d think that they would wait until reporters were on the scene, able to talk to Wheeler about it, able to talk to Rob Thomson about it. I mean, there wasn’t a lot that went into the decision, but still….

The Phillies will open their defense of the National League East crown on March 27 in Washington, D.C.