Vanderbilt has built one of the top baseball programs in the country over the past decade-plus.
Head coach Tim Corbin is regarded as one of the elite recruiters in the college baseball world and has developed his players to help them find success at the Big League level.
There’s a long list of Vanderbilt players in Major League Baseball. Of those include Walker Buehler. When healthy and at the top of his game, one could argue he’s the best Commodore in the show.
Sadly, Buehler has dealt with multiple injuries over the past few campaigns, hurting his value for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
From 2018 to 2021, the right-hander posted an impressive 2.82 ERA, 146 ERA+, 3.16 FIP, 0,98 WHIP, and struck out 620 hitters in 564.0 innings over 94 starts.
Since then, Buehler missed all of 2023 and has a 4.75 ERA in 28 starts, a major difference from the pitcher he once was.
Nonetheless, he proved in his career at Vanderbilt and with the Dodgers that he’s one of the best in the game when healthy, so the focus will be on him getting back to that eventually.
From his perspective, hitting free agency this winter couldn’t come at a worse time. If this were a few seasons ago, he’d be looking at a massive contract.
Instead, Jim Bowden of The Athletic predicted him to land a deal for just $10 million for one year.
“The way Walker Buehler pitched for much of the regular season (1-6, 5.38 ERA), it didn’t appear he would regain his past form after returning from a second Tommy John surgery. But he made a big impression in Game 3 of the NLCS, when he dominated the Mets over four shutout innings. Buehler will probably have to sign a one-year contract with a mutual option, then show he can pitch a full season healthy and rebuild his value.”
Bowden added to his prediction that his contract would have incentives, which Buehler might be happy with.
Depending on those incentives, he could earn himself some extra cash. If it’s innings and strikeouts, and he’s healthy, they’d likely be goals he could reach.
Drafted in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt, Buehler has had a successful career.
That doesn’t come as much of a surprise for Vanderbilt fans after they saw the now 30-year-old put up a 2.87 ERA during his three seasons with the Commodores.
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