Cody Snavely
With the 2023 MLB season nearly about to begin with spring training in two weeks, MLB Network is doing their annual “Top 10 Right Now,” with the most recent being the top ten starting pitchers. In years past, pitchers such as Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Walker Buehler have been on this list. However, one Dodgers pitcher who still hasn’t gotten the respect of the media or the fans is Julio Urías.
Urías, who made his debut in 2016 at 19 years, 289 days old, Urías became the first teenager to pitch in a game for the Dodgers since Fernando Valenzuela made his MLB debut out of the bullpen at 19 years, 319 days old. Since then, Urías has been a critical piece in the Dodgers’ pitching staff, whether from the bullpen or the starting rotation.
However, Urías has been magnificent for the Dodgers over the past two seasons, with him now taking over a guaranteed spot in the rotation. In 2021 Urías led the league with a .870 winning percentage going 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA in 185.2 innings pitched. In 2022 he had an even better ERA of 2.16 and went 17-7 in the regular season while also pitching for the Dodgers in their only win of the 2022 MLB postseason.
What may set Urías back compared to others in the league is his innings pitched, as the Dodgers have been very reluctant to have their starters go more than six innings over recent years. However, in Urías’s case, the issue is more than the Dodgers’ philosophy of pitching and more to the fact that he is still only 26 years old and has already had a significant injury with his shoulder which sidelined him in 2017 and most of 2018.
Although even after his terrific 2021 and 2022 seasons, he only finished third last year and a laughable eighth in 2021. This upcoming season for Urías will likely be more of the same as he looks to pitch his way to a luxurious contract as he is a free agent at the season’s end unless the Dodgers can somehow reach a contract extension.
