Seeing Sam Nepiarsky listed as the Friday starter was a bit of a shock. According to the weekly Chris Jones interview with Coach Penders, Nepiarsky was probably the most consistent pitcher in preseason after Cate and Montgomerie. Doug Domnarski was a bit better than Nepiarsky during the fall ball, so that led to Penders giving Domnarski getting the first shot at the weekend starting rotation.
After Nepiarsky emerged late in the 2015 season, I automatically figured that he would have a major role on the pitching staff in 2016. I figured wrong. While he had his moments, Nepiarsky had a less than stellar season. Still, I've always figured there was a chance he could possibly return to the late season form of 2015, so I always wanted to see him get more chances. Well, he isn't exactly Tim Cate, but Nepiarsky is getting a big chance Friday to show what he can do.
During the interview Penders mentioned that Nepiarsky was one of six pitchers groomed for starting games this season. The only one we haven't seen yet is Andrew Zapata, who is quickly appearing to be the sixth starter on a team that will only need four or five starters a week as the the season progresses. Not a good spot for Zapata, since Penders has more than once mentioned in interviews that Zapata does not fare well in relief assignments.
It also sounds like John Toppa will be restricted to the DH spot for the time being until he can throw again. Penders was giving no timetable for when that might be, so it could be a while.
Also mentioned during the interview is that Isaac Feldstein showed himself to be a very streaky hitter during the fall season. He certainly chose the right time to go off on a very hot streak.