Who? Who? Julio

Ben Platt/MLB.com

By Jon Weisman

There was no jaw-dropping curveball or Vin Scully christening. There was no TV — there wasn’t even a game.

There was only a back field at Camelback Ranch with heightened interest and expectations, and the young man of 18 years, six months, two weeks and three days who calmly faced them all.

The only real competition for Julio Urias’ two-part session of live batting practice today was the furtive fingers of Dodger beat writers tweeting the teen lefty’s performance at seemingly every angle.

Hello, Julio … pic.twitter.com/OWnK6mxtt9

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 1, 2015

It was hard to resist.

Everyone knows that Urias hasn’t pitched above Double-A, hasn’t pitched past the sixth inning in his professional career, hasn’t pitched past the month of March wearing a Dodger uniform. Everyone knows they shouldn’t get too far ahead of themselves, just like everyone knew with Kershaw when he threw Public Enemy No. 1, almost exactly six years ago … when Kershaw was 19 years, 11 months and 19 days old.

Somehow, now knowing how Urias will pan out isn’t enough to stop the pulsating fascination in how he might pan out. See it in the stories (and in the dumbstruck players quoted) by Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, Dylan Hernandez of the Times, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles and Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A., among others.

Joc Pederson on facing Julio Urias: "He's special . … He's 18 and he's throwing 96. It's not normal." #Dodgers

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 1, 2015

What happens next? Nothing of note. Cactus League play, then a ticket back to the minors. But after that? From Sanchez’s story:

The left-hander’s workload could peak at 120 innings in the upcoming season, but where will the teenager pitch them? The consensus is that he is already ready for Double-A.

“Obviously, we’ll talk to our people, but we haven’t even yet sat down and hatched his 2015 plan because developmentally, he does a lot of things right,” said Josh Byrnes, the club’s senior vice president of baseball operations. “We are happy where his stuff his, the three pitches and his performance. As he starts to get closer toward the big leagues, we have to get to know him and map out the right plan for him.”

The short-term plan for Urias is to pitch him in a Spring Training game, likely on Friday.

“In a perfect world, if we prepared him, at this time next year he is in here truly competing for a spot,” Byrnes said. “But again, you never put limits on him. With this division with the Bumgarners, and the Cains, the Kershaws and the Greinkes and their debuts, guys have got there at a young age, so it does happen. He’s got the talent where at least you have to think about that.”

Fernando Valenzuela was 19 years and 10 months and 15 days old when he reached the Majors. For Urias, that age milestone comes on June 28, 2016. Will he and the Dodgers be able to wait that long?

Recently at Dodger Insider: Julio Urias: El Prodigio