2025 Fantasy Baseball: Walker Buehler Profile, Preview, Predictions
In this story:
What Walker Buehler did to fantasy's team in 2024 was an outright crime. He teased in the postseason, and Boston rewarded him with a one-year deal for $21 million to prove his worth in 2025.
Walker F'n Buehler's 4Ks in 2 innings. pic.twitter.com/olQqEyABdI
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 2, 2025
SP – Walker Buehler, BOS (ADP – 248.4)
The dream of Buehler helping fantasy turned into a runaway nightmare in 2024. He opened the season on the injured list due to his slow recovery from TJ surgery (August of 2022). His stats were reasonable over his first five games (4.32 ERA, 1.320 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 25.0 innings), but he allowed six home runs. After another three poor showings (14 runs, 23 baserunners, and four home runs over 12.0 innings with four strikeouts), the Dodgers placed him on the injured list with a hip injury.
Two months later, anyone picking up Buehler off the waiver wire received a 4.93 ERA, 1.591 WHIP, and six home runs over 38.1 innings with 33 strikeouts. Somehow, his arm rebounded over his final three appearances in the postseason (no runs, nine baserunners, and 13 strikeouts over 10.0 innings), coming on the heels of a disaster outing (six runs and eight baserunners over five innings) in the first round of the playoffs.
The Red Sox signed Buehler to a one-year contract for $21 million in late December with the hopes of unlocking the keys to his arm.
His average fastball (94.9) was about 1.75 mph lower than his best season in 2019. He threw more sinkers (.288 BAA) while only having two pitches of value – curveball (.227 BAA) and slider (.217 BAA). Batters drilled his four-seamer (.320 BAA and .640 SLG).
Fantasy Outlook: With a winter to clear his head and have a normal throwing offseason, Buehler hopes to unlock his previous success with the Dodgers. Faith is a key factor in believing in a rebound season. Team structure is a critical factor when adding him to a fantasy roster. I’m at a loss, but I also experienced the Buehler experience last year.
Other Starting PItching Options
Top 5 Starting Pitchers | Starting Pitchers 6-10 | Starting Pitchers 11-15 | Starting Pitchers 16-20 | Starting Pitchers 21-25 | Starting Pitchers 26-30 | Starting Pitchers 31-35 | Starting Pitchers 36-40 | Starting Pitchers 41-45 | Starting Pitchers 46-50 | Starting Pitchers 51-55 | Starting Pitchers 56-60 | Starting Pitchers 61-65 | Starting Pitchers 66-70 | Starting Pitchers 71-75
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
Follow Shawn__Childs