Dodgers: What will the rotation look like in three years?

Projecting the 2023 Dodgers Rotation: Walker Buehler

To show you the cost-control the Dodgers have on Walker Buehler, by the beginning of the 2023 season, he will still be two years away from free agency eligibility. He will be 28-years-old by then, and if he follows his current trajectory, he will surely be the bona-fide number one starter in the Dodgers rotation.

If there is one name you can write in pen for being a part of the rotation in 2023, it is Buehler’s. The right-hander is on the cusp of taking the reins from Clayton Kershaw as the team’s Ace pitcher. He has already developed into manager Dave Roberts‘ best big-game starter.

Last season, Buehler went 14-4 with a 3.26 ERA, on top of impressive 10.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 rates. FanGraphs’ projection system, ZiPS, sees him being a 4+ fWAR pitcher in each of the next three seasons.

Having started only 30 games once in his young career, three years from now, Buehler should be a stud in the rotation, leading the team every fifth day. And if he pitches like he did in the 2019 National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals, he could be the starter who helps the Dodgers clinch their first championship since 1988.