Walker Buehler

30-Year-Old PitcherSP

Boston Red Sox

2024 Stats

W-L

1-6

ERA

5.38

WHIP

1.55

2025 Projections

W-L

ERA

WHIP

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2025 Fantasy Outlook

Perhaps no player improved his free-agency stock during the 2024 postseason more than Buehler, who wiped away some of his difficult regular season with a strong playoff run that included getting the final three outs in Game 5 of the World Series to forever cement his image in Dodgers lore. The question MLB teams (and fantasy managers) will have to ponder is whether Buehler's strong finish to the postseason (he didn't allow a run over 10 innings while notching a 13:4 K:BB across his final three outings) was a long-awaited sign that he could return to the form that made him an All-Star in 2019 and 2021 prior to his 2022 Tommy John surgery or simply a case of a pitcher letting it all hang loose with a championship in sight. It would be unwise to ignore Buehler's unattractive stats (5.38 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 18.6% strikeout rate) during 16 regular-season starts, but his fastball velocity remained viable at 95.0 mph, and we know that pitchers can need varying amounts of time to get right again following the TJ procedure. Buehler will be in an MLB rotation somewhere in 2025, and while there's no reason to overpay based on a short burst of postseason success, there's upside here for managers willing to take a gamble on him as a back-end piece of their rotation. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

From Preseason

Overall Rank

Dynasty

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'2"

Weight 185

DOB 7/28/1994

Born Lexington, KY

College Vanderbilt

Drafted 1st Rd 2015 LAD

Goes to Boston on one-year deal

PBoston Red Sox

December 23, 2024

The Red Sox signed Buehler to a one-year, $21.05 million contract Monday, Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports reports.

ANALYSIS
The salary matches this year's qualifying offer total, with Buehler having the ability to make more in incentives. Buehler held a 5.38 ERA over 16 regular-season starts in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery and has thrown just 140.1 innings over the last three seasons combined. The 30-year-old will attempt to re-establish his value in 2025 before re-entering the market next winter.

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Pitching Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2024 MLB Game Log

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2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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2017 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown

Average Pitch Count

Last 10 Games

Last 5 Games

How many pitches does Walker Buehler generally throw?

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

What part of the game does Walker Buehler generally pitch?

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

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Extra

% Games Reaching Innings Threshold

% Games By Number of Innings Pitched

Left/Right Pitching Splits

Since 2022

-5%

BAA vs RHP

2024

-5%

BAA vs RHP

2023

No Stats

2022

-7%

BAA vs RHP

	BAA	Batters	K	BB	H	2B	3B	HR
Since 2022vs Left	.284	333	68	25	86	16	3	12
Since 2022vs Right	.269	285	54	20	70	11	0	12
2024vs Left	.296	177	37	15	47	9	2	8
2024vs Right	.282	167	27	13	42	6	0	8
2023vs Left	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2023vs Right	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2022vs Left	.271	156	31	10	39	7	1	4
2022vs Right	.252	118	27	7	28	5	0	4
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Pitching Splits

Since 2022

-12%

ERA on Road

2024

-30%

ERA at Home

2023

No Stats

2022

-58%

ERA on Road

	ERA	WHIP	IP	W	L	SV	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Since 2022Home	5.01	1.54	79.0	3	6	0	7.6	2.6	1.5
Since 2022Away	4.40	1.29	61.1	4	3	0	8.1	3.2	1.6
2024Home	4.60	1.44	45.0	1	4	0	7.8	2.4	1.2
2024Away	6.53	1.71	30.1	0	2	0	7.4	4.7	3.0
2023Home	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2023Away	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2022Home	5.56	1.68	34.0	2	2	0	7.4	2.9	1.9
2022Away	2.32	0.87	31.0	4	1	0	8.7	1.7	0.3
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Stat Review

How does Walker Buehler compare to other starting pitchers?

This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

K/BB

2.29

K/9

7.6

BB/9

3.3

HR/9

1.9

Fastball

95.0 mph

ERA

5.38

WHIP

1.55

BABIP

.330

GB/FB

1.82

Left On Base

68.7%

Exit Velocity

81.7 mph

Barrels/BBE

5.0%

Spin Rate

2315 rpm

Balls Hit 95+ MPH

24.9%

Swinging Strike

8.0%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Walker Buehler Prospect Ranking History

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Defensive Stats

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Stats Vs Today's Lineup

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Buehler threw as many pitches as you did in 2023, so you have that going for you, which is nice. What fantasy managers hoped would be a cinderella story out of nowhere with Buehler coming back late in 2023 to help in the stretch run never materialized as we were all yet again reminded Tommy John surgery recoveries are not the same and are not guaranteed. We know how talented Buehler was before his surgery, but 2024 is an all too familiar story of risk versus reward. It is extremely unlikely Buehler is going to work over 160 innings in 2024, and we do not know how much rust he has to shake off. Buehler also isn't expected to be available at the start of the season, though he isn't expected to miss too much time. His first pitch in a regular season game will come nearly 20 months from his last pitch of 2022. Your ability to roster him depends on your roster construction as well as your appetite for extreme risk.

The Dodgers rewarded Buehler for his stellar 2021 season with their opening-day start. After six starts, his ERA was 1.96 with a 1.06 WHIP, but only 32 punchouts in 36.2 innings was a concern. Buehler started six more games, recording a 6.67 ERA and 1.59 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 28.1 frames. He was then put on the IL with elbow discomfort which was later diagnosed as a flexor strain in his throwing elbow. While recovering, Buehler had a bone spur removed from his right elbow. In August, the Dodgers decided to give up on a September return and Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery for a second time, with the first back in 2015. Buehler is likely to miss the entire 2023 season. Keeper leagues may want to stash the righty but hoping for tangible help down the stretch in redraft leagues is fruitless.

In this era of short starts from starting pitchers, Buehler is something of a unicorn in MLB (non-Ohtani Division). Remarkably, Buehler completed at least six innings in each of his first 16 starts to begin 2021, and went at least six in 26 of his first 27 starts through the end of August. There were a few bumps in the road in September and in the postseason, but Buehler was one of four pitchers to clear 200 innings during the 2021 regular season and he tacked on 18.1 frames in the playoffs. The right-hander held opponents to a .197 batting average, ranking second among qualifiers behind only Max Scherzer, and while his strikeout rate dipped to a career-low 26.0%, his 33.1 O-Swing%, 11.6 SwStr% and 29.6 CSW% were all right in line with career norms. Pitching for one of the best teams in baseball, Buehler has a 31-8 record in the regular season over the past three seasons. This combination of skills, team context and consistency with workload make Buehler a first-round consideration.

A pair of IL stints due to a persistent blister on his pitching hand limited Buehler to just eight regular-season starts in 2020, but he nonetheless continued to demonstrate why he is touted as one of MLB's best young hurlers. The right-hander got off to a slow start after a delayed ramp-up to the shortened campaign, yet he still managed a 3.44 ERA, 28.6 K% and career-best 0.95 WHIP. His fastball was again the star of the show as Buehler placed in the 88th percentile with a 96.8 mph average velocity on his heater and in the 97th percentile for fastball spin while holding hitters to a .102 BA and .119 SLG on his four-seamer. The 26-year-old continued to shine in the postseason, turning in a 1.80 ERA with 39 strikeouts over 25 innings. There may be a handful of pitchers chosen ahead of Buehler in your fantasy draft; if he gets to you in the second round, run a celebratory lap around your home.

Buehler didn't take many days off, posting the first of what should be many 30-start campaigns. Early, the Dodgers limited Buehler's in-game workload as he's just two years removed from Tommy John surgery and they wanted their prized righty fresh for the playoffs. Buehler did his part, allowing just one run in 12.2 postseason frames, but his club of course came up short. With Buehler fronting their rotation, the Dodgers' championship window remains wide open. The 25-year-old right-hander deploys a four-pitch arsenal, featuring a 97-mph fastball he used 60% of the time along with a slider, cutter and curve evenly split the rest of the time. The result was a 3.26 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, with a 24.2 K-BB%, seventh best among qualified starters. Most will group Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer together. Buehler belongs in the next tier, perhaps even at the top.

Buehler was a blast to watch pitch as a rookie in 2018 as he showcased an electric fastball along with two different breaking balls. It was easy to see why he was a first-round draft pick and it is going to be hard to restrain ourselves this draft season in chasing him for our rosters. However, that pursuit should be exercised with an amount of caution. Buehler already has one Tommy John surgery under his belt, which limited the amount of pitching he could do in the minor leagues. Those restrictions were not present last season as Buehler threw a total of 173 innings, nearly doubling his total from 2017. At age 24, to have a workload jump of that size is a risk to keep in mind if you decide you are all in on rostering the young flamethrower. Everything else we want to see in a young future ace is here (21.1% K-BB, 50% GB%), and the team context is certainly favorable.

The 2016 season ended with whispers and a five-inning sample that suggested Buehler could be in for a breakout 2017. He delivered on that promise, and then some. Buehler, who underwent Tommy John surgery after being selected with the No. 24 pick in the 2015 draft, returned at the end of 2016 throwing harder than ever, sitting in the mid-90s and touching 99 mph with his fastball -- a byproduct of the Dodgers’ weighted ball program. He maintained that velocity over his first full pro season while also showing off a plus-plus curveball and hard low-90s cutter/slider. That pitch mix was predictably deadly against minor-league hitters, catapulting Buehler to the majors for a September run as a reliever. Given Buehler’s velocity jump and injury history, he seems a bit riskier than other top pitching prospects, but his upside is undeniable. The Dodgers will likely allow him to throw around 135 innings this season, presumably beginning the year at Triple-A. If he shows improved control, he could spend most of the summer pitching every fifth day in the big leagues.

The Dodgers took a calculated gamble when they selected Buehler with the 24th overall pick in the 2015 draft. Once considered a likely top-10 pick, a pre-draft elbow issue caused him to fall, and he ended up needing Tommy John surgery that August. Buehler returned to the mound late last season, and while he only logged five innings of game action, the early returns suggest the Dodgers may have hit big on their roll of the dice. He touched 99 mph with his fastball in instructs after sitting in the mid-90s during brief appearances in the Arizona and Midwest leagues. It is hard to expect him to maintain that velocity over lengthier outings in the coming years, but even if he settles in at 93-95 mph with his fastball, that makes for a plus offering. He also features a potentially plus curveball and a hard slider/cutter that could be a third plus pitch. An average changeup could round out the repertoire, and at that point Buehler would look the part of a No. 2 starter.

The team's top draft pick in the 2015 amateur draft (24th overall), Buehler dropped a bit down teams' boards due to an elbow injury last spring, and the injury ultimately led to Tommy John surgery this past August. When healthy, the 6-foot-2 Buehler features a mid-90s fastball, slider, curve, and changeup with solid command and the ability to miss bats. Buehler's last 14 starts for Vanderbilt resulted in an 81:25 K:BB over 78.2 innings. He seems likely to miss most, if not all of the 2016 season recuperating, but it is possible he could join a full-season affiliate late in the year, or he could pitch in the Arizona Fall League. Once healthy, he has the ability to move quickly as a college draftee and settle in as a No. 3 big league starter. He's won a College World Series and a Cape Cod Championship, a pedigree that the Dodgers certainly hope carries over.

More Fantasy News

Clinches World Series with save

PLos Angeles Dodgers

October 31, 2024

Buehler struck out two in a perfect ninth inning against the Yankees on Wednesday to earn his first-ever save in Game 5 of the World Series.