USA TODAY International Edition
Dodgers’ Urias, 19, holds up under spotlight
The Los Angeles Dodgers are making every effort to protect Julio Urias’ abundant physical gifts, limiting him to 90 pitches an outing and closely monitoring his innings. Urias’ psyche? That he has to protect himself, and at this rate Urias must be getting the feeling he can handle this level.
In the latest stage of his extended baptism by fire, the rookie lefthander got his first exposure to the Dodgers’ longstanding rivalry with the San Francisco Giants — on the road, in front of a national TV audience and in prime time, no less.
The Giants prevailed 2- 1 to extend their lead in the National League West to five games, but the enduring impression from this ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game will be the skill and poise exhibited by a 19- year- old in his fourth major league start.
Urias was brilliant over the first five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk until a tworun homer by Brandon Belt ended his night one out into the sixth. Urias struck out seven for the second game in a row, including Belt twice before the lefty- swinging first baseman walloped a hanging slider over the fence in right- center field.
“He obviously has good stuff,” said Belt, who struck out on a 94- mph fastball in the first inning and on an 80- mph curveball in the third. “To be in the big leagues at 19 years old you have to be pretty dang good. He did a great job.”
Urias has improved in each of his starts after allowing three runs and nine baserunners over 22⁄ in3 nings in his debut May 27, when he was admittedly too pumped up.
The Dodgers, desperate for rotation help with five starters on the disabled list, have not exactly softened his landing in the majors. Urias’ first outing came on the road against the defending NL champion New York Mets, and then he faced the team with the best record in the majors, the Chicago Cubs, at Wrigley Field before making his home debut vs. the Colorado Rockies’ potent offense.
“I’m glad about the opportunity,” Urias ( pronounced oo- REEas) said in Spanish. “Life is not easy. You always get bigger challenges, and you have to be able to overcome them to know whether you’re ready for this level.”
Sunday marked the first time Urias got into the sixth inning, partly because of the Dodgers’ insistence on limiting him to 90 pitches — he threw 86 against the Giants, and manager Dave Roberts said Belt was going to be his final batter regardless — but also because he’s still figuring out how to put hitters away.
Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said Urias was going through the same process three- time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw endured when he came up in 2008 at 20, learning how hard major league hitters battle and what it takes to get them out.
Kershaw did not earn his first win until his 10th start, logging a 5.18 ERA through the first nine. In some ways Urias, 0- 2 with a 5.82 ERA, is a step ahead of Kershaw at the same stage.
“I think at this age Urias has a bigger arsenal than Clayton did when he first came up,” Honeycutt said. “Clayton was pretty much fastball, some changeups and curveballs, whereas Julio already has a slider in place and command to both sides with it, so he doesn’t mind throwing it backdoor. That was something later on in Clayton’s development.”
Urias’ advanced feel for pitching traces back to his father, Carlos, a catcher for two years for a Mexican League farm club, and to a youth spent striving to reach the majors. Two years ago, at 17, Urias became the youngest player ever to participate in the Futures Game. As a pro, he has invariably been the youngest in his league.
Growing up in the small town of La Higuerita in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Urias often practiced in the dirt field built amid farmland by his relatives.
With both sets of grandparents and numerous other relatives living in town, family gatherings were frequent, but they took a back seat to baseball for the aspiring pitcher, who signed a pro contract with the Dodgers at 16.
“When there were family celebrations like birthdays and pinatas, if they coincided with his baseball practice, he preferred to go to practice,” said Carlos Urias, who works for a teachers union. “Sometimes we would arrive at the end of the party and scrape the last bit of food left.
“So he missed out on some childhood activities, but he enjoyed being out on the field and had a dream, and thank God he accomplished it.”
There are still numerous lessons for him to learn. Besides adapting to a strike zone he has found narrower than in the minors and finding out how to go after hitters, Urias must navigate his increased visibility and celebrity.
Urias was regarded as perhaps the top pitching prospect in baseball coming into the season, and he’s playing in a city where 30% of the population has Mexican roots, giving rise to the possibility he might inspire a following along the lines of Dodgers icon Fernando Valenzuela’s in the 1980s.
“He drew plenty of media attention in the minors and handled it well,” said Dodgers coach Juan Castro, who has told Urias’ parents he’ll look after their son. “He’s understanding and learning what’s going on around him. The expectations are very high, and it’s not easy for a 19- year- old. I think this apprenticeship is going to help him a lot for next year.”
Urias said fans had been recognizing him around town and when he made his first start at Dodger Stadium last Tuesday, the cheering for him was so loud, “You almost got the feeling you’re pitching in Mexico.”
Where he might wind up later in the season won’t be decided right away, although Roberts said Urias would start again Friday at home and might even see his pitch limit pushed up to 100.
The Dodgers expect veteran right- hander Brandon McCarthy and lefty Hyun- Jin Ryu to rejoin the rotation next month, at which time they might send Urias back to the minors for more seasoning.
Regardless, the Giants can expect to see plenty of Urias for years to come, not a happy prospect considering Kershaw already has their number. Their precociousness naturally inspires comparisons between the two lefties, but Belt couldn’t recall a young pitcher who made that kind of impression on him.
“For someone coming up at 19 to have that kind of composure and that good of stuff, it’s hard to compare him to anybody,” Belt said. “He seems like he’s well ahead of his years. It’s hard to throw out names like Kershaw or someone like that, but as far as stuff, he’s definitely up there.”