SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Clayton Kershaw threw his third bullpen of spring Tuesday morning and is on track to pitch Opening Day on March 26 against the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Clayton Kershaw threw his third bullpen of spring Tuesday morning and is on track to pitch Opening Day on March 26 against the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

Per usual this spring, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stopped short of naming Kershaw or Walker Buehler , who is following the veteran in the rotation this spring, the starter for the first game of the season.

“You can read whatever you want into that order,” Roberts said. “Obviously, we are looking at off-days and things can happen. You can make what you want with it.”

Here’s what we know: Kershaw is scheduled to make his 2020 Cactus League debut Friday against the Brewers in Maryvale. He’s also heathier at this point of the year than he has been in previous years, which could ultimately lead to the extra boost in velocity that he’s been seeking.

“I saw Clayton throw this morning and he wasn’t happy with the execution, but he was very pleased with how he felt prior, during and after the [bullpen session.],” Roberts said. “You can watch him and see how much different his body is moving. That in itself is very exciting for all of us. I’m just thrilled with where he is at. All of the other fine-tuning will take care of itself.”

Kershaw never pitched in a Spring Training game in 2019 because of a sore shoulder. He went on to miss the first three weeks of the regular season, ultimately halting his streak of eight consecutive Opening Day starts.

The shoulder and back issues that plagued him in the past are no longer a problem.

“What I see when you are not completely healthy -- in any player -- there’s a doubt and wondering ‘when the other shoe drops,’ and you are kind of holding on,” Roberts said. “Now, it feels like that it is in the past and he’s feeling so good. There’s more clarity in the body and just how it’s going to react to whatever workload is ahead of him.”

A healthy Kershaw took one week off from throwing the entire offseason and played catch two or three times a week. He also trained at Driveline Baseball in Washington. Ironically, part of the reason he feels so fresh is because he never really rested.

“Having a full, healthy offseason to focus on just getting better with all that encompasses and not really worried about health, you have time to make gains,” Kershaw told reporters earlier this spring. “Overall, my body’s in a great spot. Legs, arm, everything.”

Whether Kershaw’s offseason work translates to an increase in velocity and more fastballs in 2020 is to be determined. Last season, he had a 43.7% usage rate on fastballs, the eighth-lowest among starters to throw at least 1,000 pitches. He threw fastballs a career-low 42.1% of the time during an injury-plagued 2018 season.

In terms of fastball velocity, of the 108 pitchers who threw at least 750 four-seamers last year, only four -- Aníbal Sánchez (90.2 mph), Zack Greinke (89.9 mph), Julio Teheran (89.7 mph) and Thomas Pannone (89.7 mph) had a slower average velocity than Kershaw's 90.3 mph in 2019.

“I see life in the zone. I see sharpness,” Roberts said. “I think that translates to getting Major League hitters out and that’s my gauge as opposed to a number on a radar gun.”