Among the biggest surprises for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season has been Walker Buehler’s dominance right out of the gate in his rookie campaign.
Buehler, 23, entered the year as the consensus top prospect in the Dodgers farm system and initially wasn’t expected to make an impact at the Major League level until the second half of the season.
But an abundance of injuries to the club’s starting staff paved the way for the right-hander to display his talents early on, and he has certainly made the most of his opportunities thus far.
Buehler concluded the month of May with a solid 2.32 ERA in 31 innings pitched before suffering a microfracture in his rib cage at the end of June, which limited him to only 11 frames over the last four weeks.
Buehler has since resumed baseball-related activities and recently threw a five-inning simulated game without suffering any setbacks. He is now slated to come off the disabled list next weekend and start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
Walker Buehler touched 97 mph and reported no effects of his rib microfracture after a five-inning simulated game at Angel Stadium. The right-hander faced a handful of major league teammates, as well as minor league outfielder Jon Littell, a 37th-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State. … Roberts said that Buehler will start again prior to the All-Star break.
Buehler last appeared in a game on June 28, when he piggybacked Kershaw in his start against the Chicago Cubs and yielded five runs in only one-plus inning of work.
Once deemed healthy, Buehler’s return to the Dodgers gives the club yet another viable option to take the mound every five days, joining Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling and Alex Wood.
He enters the final weekend before the All-Star Break with a 3.44 ERA, 2.61 FIP and 1.05 WHIP across 52.1 innings pitched, having accumulated 54 strikeouts to only 12 walks.
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