Walker Buehler has cemented himself as the ace of the Dodgers’ staff for both the future and the present. The overpowering fastball, the big power curveball, and the fire and desire Buehler maintains every time he steps onto the mound are big reasons why he is destined for greatness.
Buehler has a bright future — possibly as bright of a future as anyone his age in the league.
2019 PitchingNinja Sword of the Year (Fastball). ???
Winner:
Walker Buehler. "Mama, just killed a man…" ??? pic.twitter.com/npZjPDbqPi
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) December 20, 2019
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com recently wrote a column where he outlined his 20 bold predictions for the 2020 season, one of them being that Buehler would take home the NL Cy Young. He might be right considering the direction that Buehler is heading in.
Buehler has been truly excellent since the Dodgers made him a full-time starting pitcher in 2018. He has tossed 319 2/3 innings of a 2.98 ERA with 366 strikeouts. He is just 25 years old and is finding himself amongst the best in the game. That 2.98 ERA mark ranks seventh in Major League Baseball over that span behind four Cy Young winners, Gerrit Cole, and Mike Clevinger. He is truly dominant.
Here is the excerpt specifically pertaining to Buehler:
The layup choice here would be two-time-reigning Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. Or the Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty, coming off a sterling second half. And of course, you can rarely go wrong betting on Max Scherzer, though there’s no telling if the effects of the deep October run and pitching through injury issues in 2019 will get the best of him. But Buehler already had a 3.26 ERA in 30 starts and 182 1/3 innings as a 24-year-old in 2019. He had only six starts allowing five earned runs or more, and four of them were in the second half. He’s got one of the deeper and more potent arsenals in the sport and is a few adjustments away from going deeper into games and avoiding the occasional clunker.
As Castrovince notes, Buehler has an excellent chance at bringing home the Cy Young to Los Angeles for the first time since Clayton Kershaw. He faces stiff competition with the likes of Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Jack Flaherty involved in the race.
One final note, Buehler recently said he would be open to discussing a long-term contract to stay with the Dodgers, which would be ideal for the future of the organization.
Enjoy watching Walker Buehler emerge into one of the game’s brightest stars.
NEXT: Assessing the Dodgers Path to an 8th Consecutive NL West Crown
