After Walker Buehler made his MLB debut as a September callup and pitched out of the bullpen last season, he was expected to resume starting and play a larger role for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018.
That being said, the organization stressed an innings limit would still be in place as they looked to cautiously continued developing the former top pitching prospect. Some of that occurred without taking the ball from Buehler in his starts as he spent time on the disabled list with a cracked rib.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said the organization is comfortable with Buehler’s workload thus far — 120.2 innings pitched (Minors and Majors) — entering Saturday’s start against the Colorado Rockies. Roberts added there isn’t a need to limit Buehler down the stretch of the season.
As for the success his rookie right-hander has had, Roberts praised Buehler for emerging as a top-caliber starter, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“We have a front-line rotation piece now. We had hoped for that in the spring,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When it was going to happen, we didn’t know. But obviously you see the makeup and you see the stuff and you hope at the end of this year he was going to be that guy.”
Additionally, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman intimated Buehler has reached expectations earlier than anticipated:
“He is pitching like we expected him to,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “But I’m not sure that expectation was in 2018.”
Entering Saturday’s key game with the Rockies, Buehler is 6-4 with a 2.92 ERA, 3.11 FIP and 1.02 WHIP in 19 games (18 starts). Buehler has pitched to a 1.48 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, with 51 strikeouts and held opponents to a .168/.248/.248 batting line in his past seven starts.
That’s come at a needed time for the Dodgers, who are in the thick of a National League West race and looking to win the division a sixth consecutive year.
