SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Yordano Ventura has been picked to pitch on opening day for the AL champion Kansas City Royals against the Chicago White Sox.
The 23-year-old right-hander went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA as a rookie last season and tossed seven scoreless innings to beat San Francisco in Game 6 of the World Series.
The announcement was made by Royals manager Ned Yost on Wednesday.
James Shields, the team's No. 1 starter last year, signed with San Diego in the offseason.
Yost says left-hander Danny Duffy and right-hander Edinson Volquez will follow the hard-throwing Ventura in the rotation during the season-opening series against the White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.
Duffy was 9-12 with a 2.53 ERA last season. Kansas City signed Volquez to a two-year contract in December after he went 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA last season for Pittsburgh.
Yost says lefty Jason Vargas and right-hander Jeremy Guthrie will round out the rotation in that order.