Pitcher · 2026
Walker Buehler
- Age
- 32
- B/T
- R/R
- Height
- 6' 2"
- Weight
- 185 lb
- Number
- #10
- Born
- July 28, 1994 in Lexington, KY, USA
- MLB debut
- September 7, 2017
- Drafted
- 2015, round 1
- College
- Vanderbilt
- High school
- Henry Clay
- Salary, 2026
- $3M
- dbWAR
- -.5 3 season(s)
- IP
- 108.1
- ERA
- 5.07
- FIP
- 4.37
- K/9
- 7.9
- FIP−
- 105 100 = avg
Walker Buehler is a starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres. In 2026 he struck out 95 batters over 108.1 innings across 23 appearances, 23 of them starts, going 6-5. His ERA of 5.07 was 21.4% higher than the league average of 4.18 — 13th of 18 on his team, and 354th of 467 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 4.37 FIP suggests he pitched better than his ERA shows. He missed bats on 20.7% of swings (9.2% of every pitch he threw), walked 9.5% of the batters he faced and struck out 20.1%. His 0.9 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.
League context
Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.
Platoon splits
How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.
| Split | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs LHB | 258 | 230 | 67 | 5 | 26 | 53 | .291 | .368 | .426 | .352 | 20.5% |
| vs RHB | 215 | 193 | 46 | 9 | 19 | 42 | .238 | .313 | .430 | .327 | 19.5% |
Pitch sequencing
What Walker Buehler throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Walker Buehler throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, and how often it misses in 2026.
| Cutter | 457 | 90.3 | 2,367 | 45.7% | 20.4% | |
| Four-Seam Fastball | 375 | 94.1 | 2,171 | 46.9% | 12.3% | |
| Sinker | 342 | 94.2 | 2,083 | 47.4% | 10.3% | |
| Slider | 200 | 87.1 | 2,461 | 49.0% | 27.7% | |
| Changeup | 188 | 89.2 | 1,234 | 35.1% | 27.4% | |
| Knuckle Curve | 175 | 78.3 | 2,469 | 37.7% | 27.3% | |
| Sweeper | 140 | 82.7 | 2,650 | 41.4% | 29.3% |
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23 | 23 | 108.1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 113 | 61 | 95 | 45 | 5.07 | 4.37 | 1.46 | 7.9 | 3.7 | 121 | 105 | 0.9 | |
| 2025 | 26 | 24 | 126.0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 130 | 69 | 92 | 61 | 4.93 | 5.66 | 1.52 | 6.6 | 4.4 | 119 | 136 | -0.9 | |
| 2024 | 16 | 16 | 75.1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 89 | 45 | 64 | 28 | 5.38 | 5.54 | 1.55 | 7.6 | 3.3 | 132 | 136 | -0.5 |
Head to head
Put Walker Buehler beside up to three others.
Similar players
Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.
wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.