After a rehab process that spanned more than 14 months, left-hander Julio Urias is back in the Majors. The Dodgers announced Monday that they’ve recalled the 22-year-old from Triple-A Oklahoma City — his first look in the big leagues since undergoing shoulder surgery last June.
Urias’ rapid ascent to the Majors is among the most impressive we’ve seen out of a pitcher in recent memory. The still-young lefty arrived on the scene in May 2016 — well shy of his 20th birthday — and gave the Dodgers 77 innings of 3.39 ERA ball with 84 strikeouts against 31 walks across multiple big league stints over the remainder of that season. Urias was one of the game’s 10 best prospects before debuting in ’16 and was looked at as a potential building block for the Dodgers’ rotation before last summer’s surgery.
That’s still the best-case scenario for Urias, of course, though surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his left shoulder at such a young age was a disheartening development that created a somewhat increased degree of uncertainty moving forward. For the time being, it’s likely he’ll be used out of the bullpen, as he’s only thrown 11 2/3 innings across three minor league levels since returning from that surgery. He’s racked up 19 strikeouts in that time but also issued six walks and been tagged for seven earned runs.
Some rust is to be expected for Urias, but a healthy run in September and perhaps in October, even in a relief role, would be a significant step forward as the Dodgers map out his trajectory in 2019 and beyond. It seems likely that Urias will again be viewed as a starter in the future, though Los Angeles will keep a close eye on his workload as he distances himself from major shoulder surgery.
bobtillman
Looks like he might have to make a stop at Dodger Stadium before he’s elected to the Hall of Fame…..at least according to some Dodger fans……
juicemane
Lets not forget Keke, he is a first ballot lock according to Dodger fans
fred-3
“Keke” would probably be the Padres best position players this season
eduardoaraisa98
Keke is probably as talented at Christian Villanueva and he’s not even one of the most talented players for the Padres
fred-3
Wasn’t Villanueva their best player the first few months? Kikí isn’t as established as Hosmer, but I don’t see anyone on their roster he isn’t as good as. Maybe Frannil Reyes and Luis Urias in the future, but now. Certainly not the walking disappointment that is Wil Myers.
Kenleyfornia74
You 2 must be out of touch with reality because no one said that. Espically about Kiki
Yelsnit
They’re the Troll Queen Sisters………
marijuasher
They’re Padre fans, and these are the days of their lives.
juicemane
One of my comments get how many remarks…
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. my bowls are down here
bigkempin
The Pads traded away all of their valuable pieces for a sack of marbles and then gave Hosmer $144M. My condolences go out to you and the rest of the 10k Pads fans.
norcalblue
Encouraging. To be honest, I am surprised they brought him up. They would not do this unless they thought he could contribute. Best of luck Julio!
socalbum
no longer on the DL there is nothing lost by recalling him. even if he does nothing other than throwing BP sessions with Mark Prior and Rick Honeycutt coaching.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
It shouldn’t be that shocking really. OKC was eliminated and sending him to Tulsa for their playoff series would have meant burning his last option year. So now with less than 20 days he has another needed option year in 19.
norcalblue
Thanks, I was not aware of that.
dimitrios in la
O’s fan here (despite the name) but is t his velocity way down from two years ago?
socalbum
I read that he is averaging between 91 and 92 mph with occasional 94 mph fastball
nste23
Since there was just a story published about Jesus Luzardo, who would you rather have Luzardo or Urias?
bigcubsfan
Recall? Did he hang up on them the last time?
lowtalker1
I don’t think he will ever be the same. Granted, he overcame a lot of obstacles just to pitch in the majors, but shoulder issues are another thing.
socalbum
just turned 22, youth on his side for a full recovery but no guarantees for pitchers with shoulder surgery
lowtalker1
Add in the one functional eye as well
Cam
While it certainly is a serious injury to be coming back from, there is some hope in the fact that he’s 22, not 32. In theory, he’s still a few years away from the age when most guys even make the Majors, so he has time.
BlueSkyLA
All true, but I think we’re all still going to be holding our breath every time he pitches, for a couple of reasons. First if he gets into a close game during a pennant race we’re going to worry about his effectiveness, and second, is general nervousness over whether that surgically-repaired shoulder will hold together.
Cam
100% agree there BlueSkyLA, every pitch is going to bring some apprehension. I’m certainly going to over-analyze every facial expression he makes after his follow-though.
Even though they really need a lock down arm in the ‘pen, I imagine he’ll have a pretty short leash if he doesn’t look right.
IIRC, I don’t think there have been many people who have come back from this type of shoulder injury. But being 22 years old, there’s probably not much precedent for his situation.
BlueSkyLA
He is most suited for mop-up duty for now. On the plus side, the medical report after his surgery was that the damage wasn’t as severe as feared. Apparently it was caught before it got any worse. I can’t imagine how anyone would pitch through that sort of injury but apparently it happens.
rycm131
I got my eye on him
danlwebb5
I’m glad to see he will be getting a STRAT card.