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Washington Nationals’ Jeremy Hellickson could benefit from the use of the opener

The opener. One of the trendier and more polarizing subjects around baseball right now.

The concept was made famous by the Tampa Bay Rays last season due to an injury-stricken rotation forcing them to get creative.

Instead of going the conventional route of starting the pitcher that you intend to throw the most innings, you start with a reliever. They then pitch one or two innings, before handing the ball off to a pitcher who attempts to go deep into the game.

The concept now continues to grow in popularity around the league. We even saw the Milwaukee Brewers use an opener against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night as Adrian Houser opened the game for Freddy Peralta.