Going into the 2018 season, Walker Buehler was the top prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, although he had yet to have success at the Major League level.
Due to an innings restriction in his second full season coming off Tommy John surgery, Buehler did not begin the year with the Dodgers. It didn’t take long for him to get called up though and he quickly proved why he was highly touted throughout the league.
In his first nine Major League starts, Buehler pitched to a 2.63 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. He was then forced to go on the disabled list due to fractured ribs that he suffered when he was hit by a comebacker off the bat of Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story on May 21.
Buehler demonstrated his toughness as he actually made three more starts after sustaining the injury and before it was revealed that he had a fracture and required a stint on the DL.
When Buehler returned, he had a rough relief outing against the Chicago Cubs that could be blamed on management as much as Buehler as they opted for that instead of a rehab start. He then went and made a couple Minor League starts before being called back up and returning to his previous injury form.
Overall in 24 games (23 starts), Buehler went 8-5 with a 2.62 ERA, 3.04 FIP and 0.96 WHIP with 151 strikeouts and 37 walks in 137.1 innings. He finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves and Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals.
Buehler’s first playoff start was not his best as he gave up five runs in five innings against the Braves, serving up a grand slam to Acuña.
After that though he was great in October, including giving up just one run in 4.2 innings in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. He had a 3.80 ERA in 23.2 playoff innings.
2018 Highlight
Buehler had a number of outstanding starts in 2018, but two of them stood out more than the rest. The first one came in Game 163 against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium.
With the NL West division championship on the line, Buehler tossed a gem. He did not allow a run in 6.2 innings, giving up just one hit and three walks while striking out three. He also drove in a run with a single, and the Dodgers went on to win, 5-2, to capture their sixth straight division title.
The other impressive start that Buehler had was when the lights were brightest in Game 3 of the World Series. With the Boston Red Sox leading the series 2-0, the game was essentially a must-win for the Dodgers.
Buehler did what he does best, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just two base hits. He struck out seven without allowing a walk. He did not earn a win though as Kenley Jansen blew the lead in the eighth inning, but the Dodgers still went on to win the game on a walk-off home run by Max Muncy in the 18th inning.
2019 Outlook
Buehler will go into the 2019 season as a top-of-the-rotation starter for the Dodgers. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said he will not have an innings restriction on Buehler this season and the hope is that he can throw 200 frames.
