Tom Krasovic: Walker Buehler is a Padre, 14 years after draft-day disappointment

PEORIA, Ariz. — Fourteen years ago in Kentucky, the family of teenage pitcher Walker Buehler threw an MLB draft party in anticipation of the San Diego Padres taking Buehler with the club’s third pick.

“We kind of had somewhat of an agreement at pick 55,” Buehler said. “There was a scout named Kevin Jarvis that my mom knew really well. He was working for the Padres, and so my mom was more comfortable with that. I was 17, so that comfort was important.”

Coupled with the family’s embrace of Jarvis — a former Padres pitcher who, like Buehler, had grown up in Lexington — the signing bonus at No. 55 seemingly would induce Buehler to forgo a scholarship to Vanderbilt.

Come the draft, the Padres chose high school pitcher Max Fried with their first pick, then another prep pitcher, Zach Eflin.

Finally, the moment arrived.

“With the 55th pick of the 2012 draft,” the announcer said, “the San Diego Padres take Walker ...

“Weichel.”

Buehler exited the draft party. He telephoned a Vanderbilt coach, informing him that he’d join the team. It didn’t matter that the Pirates would take him in the 14th round.

All things Buehler would hit them like an Old Testament curse.

Weichel fell miles short of projections. Three years later, Buehler re-entered the draft, and the same folks who bypassed him with the Padres — Billy Gasparino and Josh Byrnes — selected the Vanderbilt junior 24th overall.

By then, though, Gasparino and Byrnes worked for the Dodgers.

As any longtime Padres fan would’ve predicted, Buehler became a Dodgers star. He made big contributions to a pair of World Series-winning seasons. And in a different World Series, against the Boston Red Sox, he pitched so well that Dodgers Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax stood with the Dodger Stadium crowd in giving him an ovation

Over 13 games against the Padres, he posted a 1.61 ERA — his lowest, by far, against any franchise he faced in two or more regular-season starts.

Asking which team Buehler mowed down for six innings as part of shared no-hitter — just four months into his Dodgers career, in high-altitude Mexico — is to ask who whiffed at the football Lucy pulled away.

Even when the Padres succeeded against Buehler, he hurt them.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said recently that Buehler’s response to allowing six runs to the Padres in the chaotic second inning of Game 3 of the 2024 Divisional Series, stands among the right-hander’s top performances.

Buehler was challenged that night by more than a hot Padres lineup. His comeback from a second elbow reconstruction wasn’t going well. And a pair of Dodgers defensive miscues further churned the waters.

But after venting in the dugout, Buehler regrouped and got nine more outs that, despite the 6-5 Padres victory, Roberts deemed crucial to L.A. having enough pitching to shut down the Padres in Games 4 and 5 to win the series.

“People talk a lot about how he’s pitched in big games and had a lot of success,” Roberts said after his team faced the Padres in a recent Cactus League game. “That game right there, the way he was able to hang in there and give us a chance not only in that game but the rest of the series, was just as important.”

Hearing of Roberts’ assertion, Buehler quipped: “Some might say that. That’s why they give us 26 guys on the roster.” He added: “Really, at that time, I thought that might have been the last game I’d ever pitch for the Dodgers.”

Told that he’s haunted the Padres for long enough, Buehler chuckled.

Told that it’s time he helped the Padres, he chuckled again.

“Well,” he said, “we’ll see if I can make the team first.”

The 31-year-old signed a minor-league contract one week into spring training. Throwing sessions on back fields have encouraged him.

“My body feels better,” said the right-hander, whose Tommy John surgery in August 2022 was his second. “I’m moving a lot more like I used to. We practice all this stuff our whole lives. You have surgery, and the throw gets different; then, you’re an amateur for a while. In getting back to the feelings and movements that I’ve always had in my career, stuff gets better, but my command also gets better. It kind of goes hand in hand.

“We’re getting a lot closer to some of those feelings.”

The Dodgers allowed Buehler to leave as a free agent two offseasons ago. The Red Sox signed him to a one-year, $21.05 million contract only to release him in August after he went 7-7 with a 5.45 ERA over 22 starts and one relief appearance. After joining the Phillies, he gave up just one run in 13 2/3 innings.

Buehler said the Phillies were “definitely in the mix” to sign him last month.

“But,” he added, “we felt the opportunity here was better for me and the ability to start. Obviously, they have a lot of starters in Philly, and a big-boy prospect (Andrew Painter) that’s coming up that I think is going to make the team. The opportunity wasn’t just kind of where I want it to be, and I’m definitely excited to be a part of this team.”

Buehler said he has teased the former Padres executives numerous times for not drafting him. And it’s worth noting that Byrnes said the Padres never struck a predraft deal with Buehler ahead of the 2012 draft.

Regardless, Byrnes said he’d “never bet against” Buehler. Including now. Calling him the ultimate competitor, Byrnes said the Dodgers were desperate for the turnaround he pulled off in the ’24 postseason, which the righty capped with a perfect relief inning in Yankee Stadium that closed out the ’24 World Series.

“What makes Walker such a great competitor and pitcher is he’s very confident, and he’s not afraid to fail, and he’s talented,” Roberts said. “I’m just happy that he found a place to land. It’s going to be fun competing against him this year.”

Here’s what the Padres need from Buehler:

They needed him to pull a Fernando. Ex-Dodgers star Fernando Valenzuela was well past his prime when he joined the Padres prior to the 1995 season. But the athletic lefty figured out how to get outs at a good rate. And those ’96 Padres won the National League West race. As a bonus, they did it by edging out the Dodgers.

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