Who Should I Draft?
Lucas Giolito or Walker Buehler (2021)
Experts' Pick | ||
| Lucas Giolito SP - CWS  | Walker Buehler SP - LAD  | |
Expert |
54% Recommended by 27 of 50 experts |
46% Recommended by 23 of 50 experts |
| Rankings | ||
| ECR | # 6 | # 7 |
| Best Rank | # 4 | # 4 |
| Worst Rank | # 23 | # 15 |
| ADP | ||
| Composite | # 19 | # 21 |
| Best Rank | # 17 | # 19 |
| Worst Rank | # 24 | # 26 |
| Projections | ||
| Strikeouts | 220 | 197 |
| Wins | 13 | 12 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| ERA | 3.71 | 3.30 |
| WHIP | 1.13 | 1.07 |
| Misc | ||
| Injury Alert | - | - |
| Expert Ranks | ||
| Andy Behrens Yahoo! Sports | # 6 | # 9 |
| Steve Gardner USA Today | # 5 | # 7 |
| Grey Albright Razzball | # 6 | # 7 |
| Muntradamus Beast Dome | # 5 | # 11 |
| Dalton Del Don Yahoo! Sports | # 4 | # 13 |
| Joe Bond Fantasy Six Pack | # 7 | # 9 |
| Andy Singleton Expand The Boxscore | # 5 | # 7 |
| Adam Ronis Fantasy Alarm | # 5 | # 9 |
| Nick Pollack Pitcher List | # 5 | # 8 |
| Nick Mariano RotoBaller | # 5 | # 11 |
| Mike Maher FantasyPros | # 4 | # 7 |
| Michael Waterloo FantasyPros | # 6 | # 11 |
| Donkey Teeth Razzball | # 6 | # 7 |
| Dan Harris FantasyPros | # 6 | # 8 |
| Max Freeze Freeze Stats | # 5 | # 7 |
| Mick Ciallela Fantrax | # 6 | # 8 |
| Michael Petropoulos BRoto Fantasy | # 5 | # 10 |
| Todd D Clark The Fantasy Fix | # 5 | # 6 |
| Brendan Tuma FantasyPros | # 5 | # 9 |
| Jacob W. Dunne New Life Fantasy | # 5 | # 7 |
| Carmen Maiorano FantasyPros | # 4 | # 6 |
| Lucas Spence Pitcher List | # 6 | # 11 |
| Jordan Eisen Field of Vision Sports | # 4 | # 12 |
| Staff Rankings Roto Ranks | # 6 | # 7 |
| Corbin Young FantasyData | # 4 | # 9 |
| Chris Clegg Fantrax | # 7 | # 9 |
| Nicklaus Gaut RotoBaller | # 6 | # 9 |
| Andrew Gould FantasyPros | # 6 | # 5 |
| Dennis Sosic Fantasy Six Pack | # 6 | # 5 |
| Ryan Amore Pitcher List | # 6 | # 4 |
| Chris Meaney FTN | # 6 | # 5 |
| Dave McKay The Fantasy Sports Brain | # 6 | # 5 |
| Joe Pisapia FantasyPros | # 7 | # 6 |
| Brad Camara FantasyPros | # 7 | # 4 |
| Pierre Camus RotoBaller | # 8 | # 6 |
| Heath Capps Fake Teams | # 8 | # 6 |
| Greg Smith The Fake Baseball | # 8 | # 4 |
| Jeff Boggis Fantasy Football Empire | # 9 | # 6 |
| Jake Ciely The Athletic | # 9 | # 5 |
| Wayne Bretsky BretskyBall | # 9 | # 8 |
| Tim McCullough Baseball Prospectus | # 10 | # 6 |
| Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports | # 11 | # 4 |
| Luke Gloeckner Mr. Cheatsheet | # 11 | # 7 |
| Andrew Seifter FantasyPros | # 12 | # 5 |
| Rudy Gamble Razzball | # 12 | # 5 |
| Nate Miller FantasyPros | # 13 | # 9 |
| Ariel Cohen FanGraphs | # 13 | # 5 |
| KJ Fantasy Team Advice | # 14 | # 8 |
| Mario Mergola Sporfolio | # 16 | # 15 |
| Site Projections RotoChamp | # 23 | # 5 |
| Lucas Giolito SP - CWS | Walker Buehler SP - LAD | |
| 2020 Stats | ||
| Games Played | 12 | 8 |
| Games Started | 12 | 8 |
| Innings Pitched | 72.0 | 37.1 |
| Wins | 4 | 1 |
| Losses | 3 | 0 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Blown Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Holds | 0 | 0 |
| Hits Allowed | 47 | 24 |
| Earned Runs | 28 | 14 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 8 | 7 |
| Strikeouts | 97 | 42 |
| Walks | 28 | 11 |
| ERA | 3.48 | 3.44 |
| WHIP | 1.04 | 0.95 |
| Lucas Giolito SP - CWS | Walker Buehler SP - LAD | |
| 2021 Projections | ||
| Games Played | 30 | 29 |
| Games Started | 30 | 30 |
| Innings Pitched | 180.2 | 168.9 |
| Wins | 13 | 12 |
| Losses | 9 | 6 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Blown Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Holds | 0 | 0 |
| Hits Allowed | 143 | 137 |
| Earned Runs | 74 | 62 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 26 | 21 |
| Strikeouts | 220 | 197 |
| Walks | 61 | 44 |
| ERA | 3.71 | 3.30 |
| WHIP | 1.13 | 1.07 |
| Lucas Giolito SP - CWS | Walker Buehler SP - LAD | |
| News | ||
| Lucas Giolito (1-1) allowed eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out none across one inning during Monday’s 11-4 loss to the Red Sox. He picked up his first loss of the season. Brad Camara Mon, Apr 19th | RHP Walker Buehler was handed a no-decision on Friday when he allowed two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk over six innings as the Dodgers took down the Padres 11-6 in extra-innings. Jon Mathisen Sat, Apr 17th | |
| Lucas Giolito allowed three runs and two walks while striking out eight across seven innings during Tuesday’s 2-0 extra-inning loss to the Cleveland. He did not factor into the decision. Brad Camara Wed, Apr 14th | RHP Walker Buehler picked up his first win of the year on Friday, allowing six hits and no runs with four strikeouts over six innings in the Dodgers 1-0 win over the Nationals. Jon Mathisen Fri, Apr 9th | |
| Lucas Giolito (1-0) allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out 10 across five 1/3 innings during Tuesday’s 10-4 win over the Mariners. He picked up his first win of the season. Brad Camara Wed, Apr 7th | Walker Buehler took a no-decision on Saturday when he allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts over six innings in the Dodgers 6-5 win over the Rockies. Jon Mathisen Sun, Apr 4th | |
| Lucas Giolito allowed two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out eight over five 1/3 innings in Thursday's loss to the Angels. Brad Camara Fri, Apr 2nd | Walker Buehler avoided arbitration by signing a 2-year, $8 million deal with the Dodgers. The deal includes a $2 million signing bonus, and includes several $500K contract escalators based on games started and Cy Young Award finishes. Carmen Maiorano - Carm's Clubhouse Thu, Feb 11th | |
| Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito will start Opening Day vs. the Los Angeles of Anaheim on April 1. Jon Mathisen Mon, Mar 15th | ||
| Notes | ||
| Giolito followed up his breakout 2019 season with a nearly identical 2020 season. His ERA was within .07, his WHIP within .02, and his strikeout percentage within a point and a half. Despite pitching in a homer-friendly park, Giolito has managed to limit home runs, which is a key to his continued success with the White Sox. He won't face quite an easy schedule this year (AL and NL Central pitchers had plenty of sub-par offenses to feast on in 2019), but entering his age-27 season, he should only continue to improve from a skills standpoint. Draft him as an SP1, albeit a low-end one. Dan Harris - FantasyPros | Because the Dodgers wanted to closely watch Buehler's routine and workload, he got a late start to the shortened season, essentially using his first few starts as the end of his spring training. He also dealt with blisters late in the year. All that to say, Buehler's 36 2/3 regular-season innings are, for the most part, largely meaningless. He gave up a few more home runs and walked a few more batters than usual, and he won just a single game. But none of it matters. Value Buehler as you did after his 2019 season - as one of the true stud pitchers in the game. Once the big three of Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, and Shane Bieber are off the board, Buehler should come under immediate consideration, as the type of starting pitcher who can be your fantasy ace. Dan Harris - FantasyPros | |
| There's little doubt that Buehler is one of the most talented starting pitchers in baseball, but we do have questions about his volume entering 2021. Did you know that during the regular season, Buehler had just one appearance where he completed six full innings? This wasn't just a Dodgers thing, either. Julio Urias had five such appearances while Tony Gonsolin had four and Dustin May had three. Of course, the team was saving Buehler for the playoffs more so than their other youngsters, and it worked out. The Dodgers have always handled Buehler with kid gloves, and while he'll be one of the best starters on a per-inning basis in 2021, I'm worried enough about the volume that I'm ranking him closer to the back half of my top-10 starters. Brendan Tuma - FantasyPros | ||
