Dodgers’ highly touted prospect Julio Urias will make his debut on Friday. (photo: foxsports.com)
Update 5/28/2016:
Left-handed pitching sensation Julio Urias made his Major League debut at Citi Field on Friday evening, and it wasn’t what he had hoped for. The nineteen-year-old started by striking out Curtis Granderson in a seven pitch at-bat that showcased almost all fastballs sitting in the mid-90’s. After that at-bat Urias was tagged for three runs in the first inning which included doubles by Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker and a RBI single by Juan Lagares.
He was able to get through the second inning unscathed but in the third, with two out loaded the bases after allowing a single by Lagares and consecutive walks to Kevin Plawecki and Eric Campbell. Chris Hatcher then replaced Urias who was able to get Jacob deGrom out swinging to he inning. In his short outing, Urias seemed to depend strictly on his fastball that continued to stay in the low to mid-90’s and then a few change-ups and curveballs which hit just mid-70’s. The final line for Urias was : 2.2IP/ 5H/3R/4BB/3K. He wasn’t charged with the loss because the game would end up being tied at five runs a piece in the top of the ninth, but a walk-off homer by Curtis Granderson would inevitably give the Mets the 6-5 win in the series opener.
Original Post 5/27/2016:
One he most anticipated promotions of the season is finally happening: the LA Dodgers will callup starting pitcher Julio Urias to open the weekend series against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
At just nineteen years old, Urias is seen as one of the best prospects, he is ranked number two overall by MLB.com, and has been highly scouted since signing with the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2013 at just sixteen years old.
With Triple-A Oklahoma this season the left-hander is 4-1 with a 1.10 ERA/ 0.78 WHIP and has a twenty-seven scoreless inning streak and has struck out 44 in 41 innings against some of the best hitters in the league. He can throw in the mid-90’s and has an approach on the mound that makes him look like a seasoned veteran.
The decision to start Urias on Friday night against the Mets’ hard throwing Jacob deGrom came when starter Alex Wood aggravated a left triceps muscle a few weeks ago while taking an at-bat. Wood needed a few extra days so they pushed his start back to next week and Urias was the obvious choice for the vacant spot.
Julio Urias will be the youngest active starting pitcher in baseball, no other pitcher made their debut this young since 2005 when Felix Hernandez did so. This isn’t the first time the Dodgers have promoted a nineteen year old pitcher, also from Mexico, Fernando Valenzuela had the same task at hand in 1980.
The Dodgers have said that they will evaluate Urias’ performance after Friday night and decide whether to keep him in the rotation, move him to the bullpen or send him back to Triple-A Oklahoma City so that he can continue to stay stretched out until they need him again.
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