Manager Dusty Baker confirmed Sunday that Strasburg would receive the Opening Day start April 3 against the Marlins, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.
Strasburg was always viewed as the favorite for the Opening Day nod after Max Scherzer was slow to ramp up his workload in the spring due to a stress fracture in his finger, so Baker's announcement was merely a formality. After inking a seven-year, $175 million extension with the Nationals last May, the Nationals are hoping for Strasburg to take a leap forward in 2017 after he compiled a 3.60 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 183:44 K:BB ratio over 147.2 innings last season.