Among the Dodgers top prospects helping out at last weekend’s Winter Youth Baseball Camp at Dodger Stadium was 2015 first-round draft pick Walker Buehler.

Dodger fans may recall that shortly after being selected by the Dodgers as the 24th-overall pick, the (now) 22-year-old Crestview Hills, Kentucky native underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow – a condition that the Dodgers were made aware of during his pre-signing physical but one that Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi was perfectly okay with.

“As far as signing him, we still think he is one of the top pitching talents in the draft,” Zaidi said, shortly after learning that the surgery was necessary. “We have the luxury of being able to play the long game. Even if it puts him a year behind, we think when he comes back he’s going to justify where we selected him. Obviously we signed him for a reduced number that allowed us to do some other things in the draft.”

That reduced number was a $1.7 million signing bonus, roughly $300,000 below the assigned slot value for the 24th overall pick.

“It’s tough because you get drafted and then you want to get momentum going, kind of jump out of the chute and you’re down for a year,” said Buehler on Sunday after the Youth Baseball Camp event. “Just go out and throw pretty well I feel like and have a little velocity going, and playing some games, and especially when you’re playing a championship team in the playoff run. You know you can do it with adrenaline too – not just in a contained bullpen or something like live BP.”

Dodgers 2015 first-round draft pick Walker Buehler spent a few minutes with members of the media after last Sunday’s Winter Youth Baseball Camp where he proclaimed himself fully recovered from Tommy John Surgery. (Photo credit – Yvonne Carrasco)

What was it like being drafted in the first round and then immediately being shut down for over a year?

“I think it’s more of a mental challenge than it is physical,” Buehler said. “All the stuff is just your normal lifting and just the extra arm stuff to try and get it back. And then you’ve got to build up to throwing and go through spring training and not be able to do much. You’ve got all of these guys you know about and heard about and they’re going and leaving [spring training while you stay behind], that’s the toughest part.”

It was hard to tell who was having more fun at last weekend’s Winter Youth Baseball Camp, the kids or the Dodger prospects – including Walker Buehler. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Buehler made it back from his August 5, 2015 surgery in time to pitch two innings with the 2016 Arizona Rookie League Dodgers where he earned his first professional win. He was then sent to Low Single-A where he pitched three innings for the Great Lakes Loons. He did not allow a run – earned or otherwise – in his five combined innings of work while striking out six and walking three. He also pitched 14 innings during extended spring training to build up his arm strength.

“I ended up with about 19 actually competitive innings in [Instructional League] and Low-A. It was a good start but I would have liked to get a few more,” Buehler said. “I think there may be an innings limit [in 2017]. It’s not something that I want to do but it’s kind of the right thing and that’s what you have to do coming off that surgery.”

With all of that said, is the 6′-2″ / 175-pound right-hander at 100 percent healthy and ready to go?

“I’m 25 pounds heavier than I was when I had the surgery and a year and change older and more mature from the surgery I feel like. I think that surgery simplifies things for you a lot in terms of not so worried about every result or every pitch being good or bad, it’s just more of I feel normal again and I feel good again.”