DeKalb’s own Steven Jennings is scheduled to make the opening day start for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the farm club for the Pittsburgh Pirates who chose him in the second round during the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.

The former DeKalb County Tiger hurler is coming off a 13-start season with the Bristol Pirates of the Appalachian League where he made 13 starts last season. He went 3-4 and amassed a 4.82 ERA during his season with Bristol, fanning 53 batters. He worked the Gulf Coast League in 2017, shortly after being drafted by the Pirates.

“Being an opening-day starter is an honor,” Jennings told the News & Record in Greensboro, N.C. where the Single-A Hoppers are located. “Especially being a starter for the first time the Grasshoppers are an affiliate of the Pirates. That’s pretty cool.”

Jennings forwent a chance to play at Ole Miss to be chosen in the 2017 Major League draft, opting for his second round selection and a $1.9 million signing bonus. His 94 mile-per-hour fastball and command of the plate has made him one of the leading prospects in the Pirate farm system.

During his time as a DeKalb Tiger, Jennings started every game up until he suffered a knee injury early into his senior campaign.

Jennings is set to hurl his first pitch from the mound at 7 p.m. this evening.