The Ideal Time to Call Up Each of the Dodgers’ Top Prospects

Walker Buehler – RHP

• Age: 23

• Number of seasons in the minors: 2

• Predicted call-up: All-Star Break 2018

Walker Buehler is going to be a dominant force in the majors, just not quite yet. Though Buehler is 23, he’s only been in the minors since 2016, as he was drafted by LA out of Vanderbilt University. He’s been strong this spring, boasting a 0.00 ERA over 4 innings, but a few innings in Spring Training is the definition of “too small of a sample size.”

Has Buehler been dominant in the minors? Yes. Will he continue to be dominant, even after he gets the call? Probably. The Dodgers, however, don’t want “maybes”, they want “definites.”

So do their fans, if we’re being honest.

That’s the whole point of the minors, though. No player is major-league ready the day they get drafted. Put an 18-year old ball player on the mound, facing guys like Mike Trout and Matt Kemp, and the odds won’t exactly be in their favor.

Put them on the mound when they’re 22, or 23, and we may just be surprised.