Walker

Buehler

He allowed six hits with no walks, and he struck out four. Buehler didn’t get deep enough to qualify for the win, as he threw 77 pitches in his first start since June of 2022. The right-hander gave up a pair of run-scoring singles in the first and a homer to Nick Gordon in the second, but Buehler settled down nicely over the final two innings, and showed flashes of the ace hurler he was prior to Tommy John surgery. Buehler will try and work deeper in his next start, scheduled for Sunday against the Padres.

Buehler will get a chance to make his first start in 20 months after recovering from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander was up to 75 pitches in rehab starts, and he should be able to work the necessary five innings to qualify for a potential win. Fantasy managers should absolutely give Buehler a chance if he’s still on the waiver wire.

It’s been about 20 months since Buehler has pitched in a major league game, but that will come to an end in just a few days. The 29-year-old hurler has been putting together multiple rehab stints to get ramped up for his return to the Dodgers. In his last outing, he allowed just one run across five innings and threw 75 pitches. This will be a big season for Buehler as he and the team have entertained the possibility of a contract extension in the past, but now it will be an important factor for the team as he enters free agency after 2024.

Buehler finished with five strikeouts, didn’t hand out a free pass, and threw 75 pitches (54 strikes). The hope for the Dodgers, and fantasy managers, is that the hard-throwing 29-year-old righty will be ready to make his season debut at some point next week, depending on how he comes out of this likely final rehab outing.

The 29-year-old hurler struggled with his command in his latest start on Thursday, ultimately allowing two runs over 2 2/3 innings at Triple-A Oklahoma City — throwing a total of 68 pitches. That means that Landon Knack will stick around to start again — likely on Wednesday against the Nationals in Washington.

Buehler needed 26 pitches to get through the opening frame and didn’t make it out of the third inning of this one, departing after just 68 pitches. He struck out three and also issued four walks. The big concern here is that he wasn’t able to sufficiently build up his pitch count and might wind up needing another rehab outing before finally returning to Los Angeles’ starting rotation mix. There should be a decision regarding his next step at some point in the coming days.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated Buehler’s next step will be “contingent” on how that outing goes. The 29-year-old righty was lifted for precautionary reasons last Friday after completing just two frames for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga after being hit by a comebacker on his right hand. Assuming that his next outing goes well, there’s a chance Buehler could make his season debut before the end of April or in early May.

Buehler was cruising along, scattering three hits and issuing one walk, before being hit by a comebacker on his pitching hand during his second inning of work. He managed to remain in the contest initially to finish out the frame, but was pulled shortly afterwards out of an abundance of caution. The positive news here is that he apparently managed to avoid serious injury. The hard-throwing 29-year-old fantasy ace, who is in the final stages of his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery, is expected to make another rehab start before he’s ready to make his season debut.

Buehler threw 65 pitches and struck out six while inducing 12 swings-and-misses through the start. The right-hander continues to make progress as he works to rejoin the Dodgers’ rotation, and this was a better outing — particularly in result — than the one he had last Sunday. There’s no scheduled next step, but Buehler will likely make at least one more rehab start before being added to the Los Angeles pitching staff.

Buehler will make his next rehab start this weekend after allowing four runs (three earned) over 3 1/3 innings on Sunday in his season debut. The dynamic 29-year-old righty remains without a definitive timetable to rejoin Los Angeles’ starting rotation, but we’re assuming he’ll get the call at some point next month.