Padres' Walker Buehler Compares His Fastball to Ex-Girlfriend

San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler had an unusual comparison for his fastball after his most recent Cactus League start on Tuesday.

The right-hander is trying to make his way into the Padres' Opening Day rotation, and has been using a wide array of pitches early in spring training.

His fastball — which was his best pitch when he was emerging as one of baseball's premier starting pitchers — isn't what it used to be.

The quicker he understands that, the quicker he can move on from it.

“It’s kind of like the ex-girlfriend that you fell in love with and always will want her back,” Buehler said of his fastball. “I want to throw 100, and I want it to jump. I want to kind of stand and throw. But the reality is that probably won’t happen. We’ve just got to be really good on the execution of it and keep working through. I can go play long toss until my heart’s content, I don’t think I’m gonna sit 98 to 100 anymore. But the quality of it to kind of go with the other things I can do, I think something that’s achievable and attainable.”

Buehler is coming off somewhat of an uncharacteristic performance in his latest Cactus League appearance as he tossed 3.2 innings for the Padres primarily using his sweepers.

His 68-pitch performance featured the use of his four-seam fastball just six times, which was the same amount of times he used his changeup.

While Buehler's use of his fastball was atypical, the right-hander helped the Padres earn a 10-2 victory over the Angels. He proved to the Padres he can find other ways to get hitters out.

Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla believes the team can help Buehler use all his pitches to get back to being a solid Major Leaguer.

"I don't think it's any secret that Walker Buehler threw 70 percent hard on 0-0 counts, so being able to shape some pitches into the zone. Being able to use his fastball, we love his fastball. Being able to use it in the right lines and the shapes being good, I think that's going to create a lot of success for him," Niebla said earlier this spring.

Buehler signed a minor league deal with the Padres this offseason in hopes that he could find his way to the starting rotation after a lackluster 2025 campaign.

The veteran signed a one-year, $21.05 million deal with the Boston Red Sox last offseason as a free agent. He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but looked for a change of scenery after struggling with his command throughout the 2024 season.

The Red Sox released Buehler after he sported a 5.45 ERA across 112.1 innings of work. He then signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies a few weeks before the postseason.

Now, he's looking to join Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, Michael King and Randy Vásquez in the Padres starting rotation. Buehler is competing with German Márquez and Marco Gonzalez, as JP Sears and Triston McKenzie have likely pitched their way out of the competition.

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