Who Should I Draft?
Lucas Giolito or Walker Buehler (2021)
Experts' Pick | ||
| Lucas Giolito SP - CWS  | Walker Buehler SP - LAD  | |
Expert |
53% Recommended by 27 of 51 experts |
47% Recommended by 24 of 51 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 |
| Jorge B. Edwards Fantasy In Frames | # 9 | # 5 |
| 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 struck out eight but was limited to four innings in his return from a hamstring injury on Tuesday. Brendan Tuma - Too Much Tuma Wed, Sep 15th | RHP Walker Buehler took the loss on Friday when he allowed three runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts over six innings in the Dodgers' 3-1 loss to the Reds. Jon Mathisen Sat, Sep 18th | |
| Starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (hamstring) has been activated from the 10-day injured list by the White Sox. Chris Schommer Tue, Sep 14th | Walker Buehler allowed just two runs during his seven innings, surrendering six hits and two walks while striking out five batters. Ethan Biddle - The Work of Ethan Biddle Sun, Sep 12th | |
| White Sox starter Lucas Giolito, who is currently on the injured list with a strained left hamstring, should return to make a start next Tuesday. Andersen Pickard Thu, Sep 9th | RHP Walker Buehler took the loss on Sunday when he allowed six runs on seven hits with one walk and one strikeout over three innings as the Dodgers lost to the Giants 6-4. Jon Mathisen Sun, Sep 5th | |
| Lucas Giolito threw at full effort with no reported issues on Tuesday. Ari Koslow Wed, Sep 8th | RHP Walker Buehler took a no-decision on Tuesday when he allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts over seven innings as the Dodgers beat the Braves 3-2. Jon Mathisen Wed, Sep 1st | |
| Lucas Giolito was placed on the 10-day IL due to a left hamstring strain. He had left his start on Tuesday early against the Orioles. Kamran Hoda Fri, Sep 3rd | RHP Walker Buehler took a no-decision on Wednesday when he surrendered just one unearned run on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings as the Dodgers beat the Padres 5-3 in extra innings. Jon Mathisen Thu, Aug 26th | |
| 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 | ||
