Everyone is brimming with excitement over the Dodgers finally calling up super pitching prospect 19-year old Julio Urias. The left handed wonder kid is expected to do all kinds of wonderful things for the Dodgers including make up over five games in the standings in one night. He’ll also solve world hunger and bring peace to the Middle East. Ok, maybe not all that. But if you are expecting for the kid to come in and immediately solve all of the Dodger’s problems this season then you are probably sorely mistaken. The Dodgers have a lot to work on if they want to catch the Giants this summer, and Urias is not going to be able to fix everything, especially the offensive issues the Dodgers have had all season.
Our friends over at Numberfire agree. Don’t get me wrong, Urias is going to be great. It’s super exciting watching him finally get his shot and see him potentially develop into an ace. All I am saying is we should probably be tempering our expectations a bit.
Everyone always repeats about how Urias has never pitched more than 87 innings at any level of professional baseball. I still believe letting him pitch will do more good than limiting him. We can still expect for the Dodgers to have him on a strict innings and pitch count limit tonight and throughout the season. If Urias sticks around that is. I would not expect for Urias to go more than 6 innings tonight during his debut.
The question is if this will be his only start or not? Will the Dodgers allow Urias to stay in the rotation? Or will the youngster be shipped back to Oklahoma City to continue his development? He’s essentially making a spot start because Alex Wood has a sore arm. This is what the club announced. Wood’s next start has been pushed back until the Chicago series. With Hyun-jin Ryu nearing a return from his rehab assignment the Dodgers may not have many spots open in the rotation. My guess is he gets sent down again unless he absolutely amazes tonight. Either way the game tonight is going to be fascinating to watch.
Of course as I noted above, Urias can’t drive in runs for the Dodgers. He can’t hit and he can’t hold leads late in games. He’s not a solution to the offensive woes, and he’s not a solution to the bullpen mess. He is a solution to solidifying the rotation. That’s one thing he can do.
It’s important not to put too much pressure on the kid. This is only his first start and he’s making it in hostile territory. The one-eyed kid with the golden arm has to face the Mets in New York. This is the kind of game we live for as baseball fans.
I am super stoked to see Urias getting his shot. Let’s not talk about him like he’s some kind of savior. Remember the Dodgers still have a lot of problems to work on and a lot of ground to make up in the standings if they want to catch the Giants in the NL West. So watch with the excitement, but give the kid a break.
“Tone Down Your Expectations With Julio Urias”
Too late for that. JULIOMANIA!! has set in.
I read yesterday Friedman has stated publicly the goal for Urias this year is 115 innings. It doesn’t matter where he gets them. He has 41. I expect 5 more tonight. That will leave a ripe number of 69 to go. Maybe he’ll get 6 tonight and leave 68. You know what 68 is? You do me and I’ll owe you one.
Badger
Did you mean, that you hope that Urias leaves tonight, without having to be 68, to be made to leave?
Not exactly MJ.
There is another joke lying there, but I’d best leave it alone.
Queue the tumbleweed…..
Badger
I was thinking wrong. It should be eighty sixed.
Think Brokeback Mountain, MJ.
Tone down expectations, are you kidding me? That’s what one should do when they buy a power ball ticket.
Nice piece Scott.
Urias’ start tonight, is all over the MLB Channel today. And I think everyone here, knows, that Urias is not going to be perfect, and if he isn’t, that is ok too.
I guess the Dodgers had Urias’ mom and dad, flown in to see his first start, so he has his family in the stands, to give him support.
The Dodger fan in me, already tells me, not to have great expectations.
So that is why I have said, to wish Urias the best, and also hope for the best!
And to remember that the Dodgers don’t ever do anything easily.
But that still doesn’t mean, that they can’t!
Speaking of humor, here’s a good one:
You know the moment I knew Mark and I were worlds apart?
When I realized the men he admired most were named Bush, Dick and Colon.
Badger is a great writer of fiction. The three men I admire most are not politicians, but Badger is a dick.
Badger
Doesn’t most man like bush?
I like that MJ – very good
But there are hardly any bushes left.
The last Bush had low energy.
There’s always another Bush.
MJ, this Bush is a guy so, no, not most man like Bush.
Point #1 – Badger said that no one said the Dodgers didn’t have a plan. Duh, yes that was exactly what a few said! Look it up!
Point #2 – I do not post under two names on purpose. My office computer uses a different one than my home one. I will try and consolidate. I use Mark Timmons for business and mountainmover for Dodger business . Just about everyone knows that, but I can see the possibility of confusion.
Point #3 – I remember when I first saw Clayton Kershaw in person – after a few pitches you could see greatness oozoing out of his pores! I feel the same about Julio. If it’s all the same, my expectations are sky high!
Clayton started his first game on May 25, 2008. He went 6 innings while allowing 5 hits and 2 earned runs. He struck out 7 and walked but 1. 5 days later he gave up 4 runs in 3.2 innings. Clayton was 20 years and 67 days old when he started. Julio is 19 years and 289 days old. Clayton was only 6 months older that Julio is right now.
Clayton pitched 37 innings at age 18, 122 at age 19 and 168 at age 20. Urias pitched 54 innings at age 16, 87 at age 17 and 80 at age 19. I think he will pitch around 150 total innings this year.
For the record, Julio is not going back to AAA – he’s here to stay!
I hope you’re right – he can develop faster in the big leagues. If he learned to prepare and work like Clayton Kershaw from being around him – what better teacher could he have? Here’s an excerpt from an article by Tim Brown at Yahoo Sports:
“It’s the preparation,” veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir said earlier in the day. “It’s something I’ve never seen before. The minute-to-minute routine, every … single … day. It’s like he never breaks stride. Everything has this super focus.”
Urias could learn from worse.
Yeah, he could. Apparently that would be Kazmir. Super focus sounds like something unfamiliar to him.
Julio here not only to pitch well, but to inspire, much as Puig did back in “13”. A year I find myself nostalgic for these days.
Don’t forget that the Mets are a solid team, one of the 2-3 best in the league. Playing at home. Friday night. Long weekend. Probably some big promotion. Packed house. Anti-Utley. Lots of odds stacked against Urias. We’ll see. How about a nickname? Uri? J-U? J-U looks a lot like Ryu when he pitches. Lots of lower body. More stress on the shoulder than the elbow? I just want to win the game and try to keep up with the Hated Ones. Go Sharks.
Yep 58, those were the days.
You are right about Puig being the catalyst, but I think it coincided with Hanley coming off the DL, and the pair of them tore it up for a while.
There were some exciting games, and Ryu was a big part of it.
Maybe Urias can inspire some of the others and we can get some momentum. Maybe Ryu comes back strong and suddenly we have,
Kershaw
Kazmir
Urias
Maeda
Ryu
Wood
A bit more like it
Plus Greinke coming off the DL and Kenley replacing League as closer. Amazing run that year.
The Dodgers have a two-fold problem. They don’t hit and their pitching is not up to the level of a playoff team. How to fix their batting? It’s anyone’s guess. They are just not very good.
How to fix their pitching? Not by having a 6 man rotation. I think anything other than Urias stepping in temporarily for Wood is a mistake. Urias is not ready and needs more time in the oven. Perhaps if Maeda gets back on track, like Kazmir, and Ryu returns to form and is able to stay healthy, the pitching staff may keep them in games and beat those teams that they should. But, keeping up with the Giants? Forget about it. It’s not going to happen any time soon. They are not a sleeping giant.