What It Means:

“With Walker, he took some time off with the uncertainty, and that was his decision. [Pitching coach] Mark [Prior] was in tune with it,” Roberts said. “The build-up period for Walker is just going to take a little bit longer. I think ultimately we get him, once the season starts, three or four innings with some guys behind him, he’ll be fine, and we’ll just continue to build him up.” The early pitch count puts a dent in Buehler's fantasy value for the shortened 60-game campaign. He finished top-10 in the National League last season in both ERA (3.26) and strikeouts (215).

numberFire's models expect Buehler to record a 3.45 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 83 strikeouts and 18 walks over 70 1/3 innings this season.