Urias is likely to be the Opening Day starter for the Dodgers, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.
It's not a big surprise, as Urias was the best pitcher on the Dodgers in 2022 with a 17-7 record, 2.16 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over 175 innings. The left-hander will start Friday's Cactus League game after returning from the World Baseball Classic while pitching for Team Mexico, which lines him up to pitch on normal rest Thursday against the Diamondbacks. Even without elite strikeout totals, Urias is deserving of a high draft pick in all formats.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Expected to start Friday
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Urias has been removed from Team Mexico's active roster from the World Baseball Classic and is expected to start for the Dodgers in Friday's Cactus League game versus the Brewers, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
Urias was cleared to report back to Dodgers camp after Team Mexico determined that he wouldn't be available to pitch if the club advanced to the WBC finals against Team USA. Before leaving for the tournament, the left-hander looked sharp in spring training with a 1.35 ERA in two Cactus League appearances. Assuming he sticks to a four-day rest schedule following Friday's outing, Urias would be lined up to start in Dodgers' March 30 season opener versus the Diamondbacks.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Sharp in spring debut
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Urias pitched 2.2 innings in a Cactus League contest against Cincinnati on Tuesday, allowing one run on two hits and no walks while striking out four batters.
The lone run against Urias came after he left the game -- he gave up a leadoff single to Luke Maile in the third inning, struck out the next two batters, then watched Maile come around to score after giving way to a reliever. It was a strong debut for Urias, who threw 41 pitches. He's expected to make one more exhibition start before leaving the Dodgers to join Team Mexico for the World Baseball Classic, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Slated to make spring debut Tuesday
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Urias is tentatively expected to start Tuesday's Cactus League game against Cincinnati, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
The Dodgers have yet to put any of their projected 2023 starters on the mound through two spring training contests, but that looks to be changing early in the week with Urias and newcomer Noah Syndergaard both on schedule to throw against the Reds on Tuesday. Urias will spend part of his spring pitching for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, and he's lined up to form a dynamic 1-2 punch with Clayton Kershaw atop the Dodgers' rotation during the coming MLB campaign.
Urias agreed to a one-year, $14.25 million contract with the Dodgers on Friday to avoid arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Urias made $8 million in 2022 and will receive a substantial raise in his final season of arbitration eligibility. The 26-year-old lefty had a 2.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 166:41 K:BB over 175 innings last season.
Urias was confirmed to be the starter for Game 1 of the Dodgers' NL Division Series against the Padres on Tuesday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
After recording a career-best 2.16 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 2022, Urias will officially serve as the Dodgers' ace to open up the postseason. Urias has faced the Padres three times since the start of September, allowing three earned runs and striking out 12 batters over 19 innings in those games.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Goes five frames in no-decision
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Urias didn't factor into the decision during Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Colorado, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts in five innings.
Urias fell behind early thanks to Brendan Rodgers and Sean Bouchard solo shots in the game's first three innings, but Los Angeles rebounded to erase him from the ledger. The 26-year-old ends the campaign with three straight no-decisions, though he still managed to limit the opposition to no more than two runs in all 13 of his second-half starts. Urias' 2.16 ERA ranks second in MLB behind Justin Verlander, while his 0.96 WHIP places him sixth. He also has 166 strikeouts in 175 innings across 31 starts.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Lowers NL-best ERA
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Urias did not factor in the decision against San Diego on Wednesday, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out five batters over six scoreless innings.
Neither team scored until the 10th frame, as Urias and opposing starter Joe Musgrove dueled in the early innings. The emerging Dodgers ace wasn't overpowering -- he notched just seven swinging strikes and five punchouts -- but held the Padres without an extra-base hit and allowed only one runner to reach third base. With the six shutout frames, Urias lowered his NL-best ERA to 2.17. Though Sandy Alcantara is the presumptive frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award, it's worth noting that Urias also tops him in a number of other standard stats, including wins (17), WHIP (0.96) and opponent's batting average (.199). Urias will likely have one more regular-season tune-up before starting in the Dodgers' first or second playoff contest.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Settles for no-decision
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Urias pitched 5.1 innings against the Diamondbacks on Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out five batters.
Urias and Zac Gallen engaged in a duel between two of the NL's top pitchers, with both hurlers giving up a single run. Urias saw his streak of quality starts come to an end at five outings, though it wasn't a result of laboring excessively, as he threw just 89 pitches. The Dodgers have no reason to push Urias with the NL West already locked up and home-field advantage throughout the postseason looking increasingly likely, especially given the numerous injuries that have impacted their starting rotation this season. Despite the relatively short outing, Urias looked to be in good form and lowered his NL-best ERA to 2.25 on the campaign.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Strikes out eight in quality start
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Urias (17-7) earned the win during Saturday's 7-2 victory over San Francisco, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk with eight strikeouts in six innings.
Urias fell behind early when a run scored as a result of an error in the first inning, but Los Angeles quickly responded to pull ahead 6-2 at the conclusion of the third. The 26-year-old has won 14 of his last 15 decisions -- surrendering just one run in his lone loss -- while posting a 1.91 ERA in 94.1 innings during the 16-start stretch. Urias' 2.27 ERA and 0.95 WHIP both rank fourth in MLB while his 17 wins rank second.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Goes seven innings in victory
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Urias (16-7) earned the win over San Diego on Saturday, tossing seven innings and allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five batters.
Urias loaded the bases in the first inning but was able to get out of trouble by striking out Jake Cronenworth to end the frame. He needed 25 pitches to make it through that inning but threw only 58 pitches over his final six frames, with the only runs he surrendered coming on a pair of solo home runs by Manny Machado. Urias registered his 16th victory, and he has a shot to reach the 20-win mark for the second straight season. The left-hander is tied for second in the league in victories and leads qualified National League hurlers with a 2.30 ERA.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Breezes to 15th win
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Urias (15-7) earned the win over San Diego on Saturday, allowing one run on two hits and three walks while striking out two batters over six innings.
Urias didn't need to expend excessive energy on a hot night in Los Angeles, riding a wave of run support to a cool 78-pitch, six-inning quality start. The left-hander pitched mostly to contact, inducing only six swinging strikes and notching just two punchouts. The lone run he gave up came on a Manny Machado home run in the sixth inning. With Sandy Alcantara getting hammered for six runs Friday, Urias now owns the top ERA in the National League among qualified starters at 2.29.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Back in win column
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Urias (14-7) allowed one run on one hit and four walks over six innings Sunday, striking out seven and earning a win over Miami.
Brian Anderson's solo shot in the fourth inning was the lone blemish during Urias' quality start. The 26-year-old lefty has yielded two or fewer runs in eight consecutive starts, posting a terrific 1.08 ERA while going 7-1 during that span. Urias is now sporting a 2.32 ERA with a 137:31 K:BB through 139.2 frames. He's lined up for a home start against the Padres next weekend.
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Dodgers' Julio Urias: Sees end of win streak
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Urias (13-7) took the loss against Milwaukee on Monday, pitching six innings and allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out seven batters.
Urias came into the contest having won each of his past six starts and having thrown 11 outings without taking a loss. Both of those streaks came to an end Monday, though Urias can hardly be blamed. The left-hander gave up just two hits, but one was a fourth-inning homer off the bat of Luis Urias that accounted for the only run against him. Despite the loss, the Los Angeles hurler lowered his season ERA to 2.36, good for sixth-best in the majors among qualified pitchers.
