The emergence of rookie pitcher Walker Buehler was a bright spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018. He figured to have an even bigger role in 2019.
Andrew Friedman, Los Angeles President of Baseball Operations, said that Buehler is expected to throw close to 200 innings in 2019.
Andrew Friedman said the Dodgers asked Walker Buehler to prepare to throw 200-plus innings in 2019. He threw 177 between this year’s regular season and playoffs.
“I think we were more conscious of getting rest where we could this year than we will be next year,” Friedman said.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) November 7, 2018
That’s certainly an increase.
It’s also worth noting that innings expectations are generally related to the regular season. If Buehler throws 200 regular season innings and the Dodgers return to the playoffs, the total will likely get close to 230.
During the regular season with Los Angeles, he posted a 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and struck out 151 batters in 137.1 innings. It was good enough to make him an NL Rookie of the Year finalist. In four postseason outings, Buehler had a 3.80 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and struck out 29 hitters in 23.2 innings.
Based on 2018, more Buehler in 2019 is good news for the Dodgers and their fans.