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Los Angeles Dodgers: Bold predictions for Walker Buehler in 2019

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 26: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after retiring the side during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game Three of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 26: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after retiring the side during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game Three of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers /

3. Walker Buehler will be an all-star and finish as a Cy Young finalist

We were going to dedicate this entire slide to Walker Buehler being an all-star for the first time in his career in 2019 but that just seemed silly. If Buehler was going to have an ERA of under 2.40 then, of course, he was going to be an all-star. That would just be redundant.

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However, Buehler’s numbers are not only going to be good enough to be an all-star but he is going to finish as a Cy Young finalist when it is all said and done in 2019. While we do not think he is a lock to win the award, we certainly think he can finish in the top three in voting this season.

There is some stern competition in the National League. Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola finished as the finalist last season and show no signs of slowing down. Kyle Freeland, Patrick Corbin and Miles Mikolas all received votes and could receive votes in 2019.

Then, of course, there are the big names, such as Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner and deGrom’s teammate, Noah Syndergaard, that did not receive votes last year.

There is a lot of good pitching in the National League and to claim that Buehler is going to finish among the top three might seem like a big leap. However, with the year he is set to have, it is going to be impossible to deny him some sort of honors.

Ultimately, the innings pitched might hold Buehler out from winning the award, as he likely won’t have around the 200 innings pitched that a Cy Young winner usually has. Instead, he will likely be in the 160 to 175 range, with the Dodgers being extremely cautious of his workload.

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I would not even be surprised to see Kershaw as a finalist either, similar to 2015 with Zack Greinke. In fact, I think that is exactly what will happen. Kershaw and Buehler will be thriving and making each other better as the year goes along.

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