Julio Urias – Page 8 – Dodger Thoughts

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Julio Urias on Baseball America cover

On April 16, 2014

By Jon Weisman

Dodger Insider magazine will have its own story on Julio Urias in May, but Baseball America is going one better by putting the 17-year-old phenom on the cover of its latest issue.

Urias is the youngest player in the California League — by almost two years. “There are only two other 17-year-olds playing anywhere in full-season ball,” Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper writes.

The Irony Committee approves the fact that this cover comes the week of perhaps Urias’ poorest career start, allowing five runs on eight baserunners in 4 1/3 innings, but we won’t let the idea of a BA jinx worry us. Urias had a 2.48 ERA with 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings for Great Lakes in 2013.

Intermission: Baseball reacts to Julio Urias

By Jon Weisman

On March 15, 2014

In Uncategorized

Dodgers vs. White Sox, 7:05 p.m.
Yasiel Puig, RF
Justin Turner, SS
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Juan Uribe, 3B
AJ Ellis, C
Alex Guerrero, 2B
Joc Pederson, CF
Chone Figgins, LF
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles, J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News, Steve Dilbeck of the Times and Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. wrap up Julio Urias’ spring debut, coming in the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over San Diego (recapped here by Tyler Emerick of MLB.com).

From Saxon:

A veteran major-league scout, sitting behind home plate, watched Urias’ 14 pitches and typed in his first impressions of the youngest prospect in the game, in a text message. One of the first words he came up with is “Poise.”

“Stuff was good,” the scout added. “He pitches to both sides of the plate, with tail and sink. He has deception with his changeup.”

More shots from Jon SooHoo of today’s action here.

Feel the buzz: Julio Urias strikes out two in perfect inning

By Jon Weisman

On March 15, 2014

In Minor leagues

Julio Urias warming up: https://t.co/hIxysTABIH

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 15, 2014

By Jon Weisman

Six years and six days after Clayton Kershaw put himself on the Spring Training map just before his 20th birthday with “Public Enemy No. 1,” 17-year-old Julio Urias has made his initial moundprint.

Urias, who doesn’t even turn 18 until August, was a surprise starter in the Dodgers’ afternoon Spring Training game against San Diego. After falling behind in the count 3-0 to Padres leadoff batter Will Venable, Urias came back to strike him out, induce a groundout from Chris Denorfia and then strike out Yonder Alonso. Urias reportedly had a fastball between 93 and 96 miles per hour.

Pitching most of 2013 at age 16, Urias had 67 strikeouts against 61 baserunners in 54 1/3 innings for Single-A Great Lakes with a 2.48 ERA.

Urias, born exactly two years after the 1994 MLB strike began, could pitch in Double-A this year and be in the majors before his 19th birthday if the Dodgers are willing to let the reins go that much. Of course, expect them to be exceedingly careful.

For comparison, Fernando Valenzuela was 18 1/2 when he made his minor-league debut in 1979, and reached the majors two months before his 20th birthday in 1980. Kershaw made his MLB debut at age 20 and two months in 2008.

I interviewed Urias in February for a future Dodger Insider article, and the word I would use to describe him is “confident.” And why not?

Urias made Alanso look silly on a 1-2 pitch. Looked like a changeup.

— Dustin Nosler (@DustinNosler) March 15, 2014

Scout on Urias: “Stuff was good. Pitches to both sides with tail and sink. Deception with his changeup. Poised.”

— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) March 15, 2014

17-year-old Julio Urias said his goal for 2014 is to finish the season in the major leagues.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 15, 2014

You’d think it was Father’s Day

By Jon Weisman

On March 10, 2014

In Postgame, Spring Training, Transactions

By Jon Weisman

Why yes, I have noticed that a certain Even Steven approach to the Dodger exhibition season. Cyndi Lauper is putting out her new single, “Tie After Tie,” as we speak.

Today’s 8-8 deadlock with Oakland widened the Dodgers’ Cactus League record to 4-6-4 and gave them ties in nearly 30 percent of their contests. In their past 10 games, the Dodgers are 2-4-4. Their past six games have been as easy as 1-2-3.

Last year, Los Angeles played 15 extra-inning games out of 162 in the regular season.

The Dodgers allowed a game-tying five runs in the eighth inning today, but it could have been worse. Brian Wilson, still mixing the occasional knuckleball, had a visit to the mound from an assistant trainer in the eighth inning (no, I’m not making a connection there), but the team reported no trouble to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

Wilson was charged with two runs, while Carlos Frias, who retired none of his four batters, was charged with three.

Los Angeles looked great at the outset, with Andre Ethier lovingly smashing a three-run home run in the first inning, Juan Uribe following with a solo shot, and Hyun-Jin Ryu scattering a run and four baserunners over five innings, striking out four.

[mlbvideo id=”31494067″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]

Miguel Olivo added a three-run double (not to mention a stolen base) in helping boost the Dodgers’ lead to 8-3. In addition, J.P. Howell and Dee Gordon each turned in fine defensive plays.

[mlbvideo id=”31496463″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]

[mlbvideo id=”31495283″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]

Following the game today, the Dodgers optioned pitcher Matt Magill and reassigned Frias, J.C. Boscan, Brendan Harris and Clint Robinson to minor-league camp. Harris is the second of the pre-Spring Training infield candidates to miss the cut, following Justin Sellers, who was sent to Cleveland.

Magill has had a nice exhibition season, with six strikeouts against five baserunners in 5 2/3 innings.

And, a postscript: I know the story here is Zack Greinke and Matt Kemp progressing in their rehab, but what really tantalized me was the thought of seeing Kemp bat against Julio Urias. The 17-year-old gave up a sacrifice fly to Kemp in the intrasquad game, but also struck him out.

In short, call it Even Steven.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prvm5ZFPIrE&w=550&h=413]

In case you missed it: Caravan on ice

By Jon Weisman

On January 29, 2014

In Community, History, Minor leagues, MLB

By Jon Weisman

Photo highlights from Tuesday’s second day of the Dodgers Pitching in the Community Caravan (presented by State Farm) can be found here.

Elsewhere, the links keep coming …

Clayton Kershaw spoke to MLB Network about the potential for using the new protective caps for pitchers approved by MLB. Steve Dilbeck of Dodgers Now passes along some Kershaw quotes.

… “I’ve thrown with it. You don’t look very cool, I’ll be honest,” he said.

“But technology is unbelievable and it really doesn’t feel that much different once you get used to it. Obviously, it would be a change. We wouldn’t look the same as everybody else, but if you’re that one guy who gets hit what seems like every year, there’s that chance out there. I’m definitely not opposed to it. I think it’d take a lot of getting used to. I think it’s a great thing and a step in the right direction, for sure.”

Kershaw said baseball could require minor leaguers to wear the cap, easing its way into the big leagues. …
What were the most clutch plays of the Dodgers’ 2013 season? Chad Moriyama takes a look at Dodgers Digest.
Julio Urias ranks 14th on Keith Law’s top 100 prospect list for ESPN.com. The 17-year-old is followed by Corey Seager at 18, Joc Pederson at 41 and Zach Lee at 75. Here’s the start of the Urias writeup:

The Dodgers signed Urias — who is the youngest player on this list by a wide margin — during the same trip to Mexico that netted them Yasiel Puig, which may end up one of the most productive scouting runs in baseball history, as Urias has enormous upside if he can just stay healthy while Los Angeles gradually builds up his arm to handle a starter’s workload.
Ken Gurnick is the latest to profile Lee, for MLB.com.
Dodgers marketing pioneer Danny Goodman is someone who must be remembered, and it’s nice to see Evan Bladh do so at Opinion of Kingman’s Performance.
Tom Verducci’s Baseball State of the Union piece at SI.com is long but well worth the read for how thought-provoking it is, even if you don’t agree with all he writes (and I don’t think he intends for you to).
One more from the caravan, which featured kids from Long Beach’s McBride Park Teen Center skating at Dodger Stadium at the end of the day.

In case you missed it: Stick and move

By Jon Weisman

On January 24, 2014

In History, In case you missed it, Minor leagues

Hockey in flip flops — it’s the Dodger Stadium #StadiumSeries: pic.twitter.com/SpfnIsUThi

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 24, 2014

By Jon Weisman
The first full-squad Dodgers workout at Camelback Ranch is three weeks from today. Three weeks.

Using a point system for its top 100 prospects where teams received 100 points for the No. 1 spot and 1 point for being No. 100, the Dodgers ranked seventh in the majors by MLB.com and first in the National League West. Individually, Corey Seager was 34th, Joc Pederson 36th, Zach Lee 63rd and Julio Urias 64th. Considering the promising Urias might be underrated on this chart (and that Alexander Guerrero was ineligible for consideration), this is a strong showing. More details here from Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
As Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. points out, MLB.com (Seager), Baseball America (Pederson) and Baseball Prospectus (Urias) have each put different players atop the Dodger prospect list.
Dustin Nosler takes his Dodger prospect rundown to Nos. 31-40 at Dodgers Digest.
Oh, hey — occasionally, major-league talent gets ranked as well. USA Today looks at starting pitchers, with Clayton Kershaw first and Zack Greinke 13th. Madison Bumgarner was the only NL West pitcher above Greinke.
Another Cuban contender for the majors is 28-year-old catcher Yenier Bello. Jesse Sanchez at the Park has details (via J.P Hoornstra of the Daily News).
Coming up from Orange County for Saturday’s NHL Stadium Series game at Dodger Stadium? Emma Amaya has public transportation details at Dodger Blue World.
Steve Garvey will have his Michigan State Spartan jersey retired at a ceremony in East Lansing on Sunday.
Willie Crawford gets a career retrospective from Bruce Marksen at the Hardball Times. An excerpt:

… In 1964, the 17-year-old Crawford drew the interest of every one of the 20 major league teams in existence. With his combination of five-tool talents, clubs like the Dodgers, Yankees, and Kansas City A’s envisioned him as the centerpiece to their outfield futures.

Dodgers executive Al Campanis simply raved about Crawford’s ability. He filed a scouting report with his superiors that indicated Crawford “hits with the power of Roberto Clemente and Tommy Davis at a similar age.” A’s owner Charlie Finley offered an even higher opinion of Crawford, calling the teenaged flychaser “a Willie Mays with the speed of Willie Davis.” In the context of early 1960s baseball, it was hard to get much better than a combination of Clemente, Mays, and the two Davises.

Finley liked Crawford so much that he gave the youngster a large, framed, signed portrait of himself, which eventually hung in the Crawford living room. Even more pertinently, Finley offered Crawford a bonus of $200,000 to play center field for his A’s; it was a staggering amount of money in the mid-1960s scheme of things. Crawford seemed genuinely intrigued by the advances of Finley, referring to him as “one of the nicest millionaires I know.”

Crawford gave serious consideration to Finley’s offer. At the same time, he also received warm overtures from the Dodgers, who sent a young scout named Tommy Lasorda to Crawford’s home. Only two days after he graduated from Fremont, Lasorda reached an agreement with Crawford. The youngster signed a contract giving him a bonus of $100,000. While it was only half of Finley’s offer, it was the largest bonus ever secured by an African-American player, exceeding the previous amounts given to Richie Allen and Tommie Agee.

So why did Crawford take the lesser sum of money? As a native and resident of the Watts section of Los Angeles, Crawford simply did not feel comfortable moving far away from the California coast. He also found himself swayed by Lasorda, a Dodgers scout at the time and a man who had taken the time to attend the funeral of Crawford’s grandfather. …
I’ve addressed this issue before, but Brad Johnson at the Hardball Times revisits the implicit reasons why teams agree to player opt-outs.
I mentioned “The Battered Bastards of Baseball” the other day, but here’s more on the project: Jeff Labrecque of EW.com interviews Todd Field, the director of “Little Children” who was a 13-year-old batboy for the subjects of the documentary, the Portland Mavericks. And also comes the news from Justin Kroll of Variety that the doc will be adapted into a feature film, with Field writing and directing.

In case you missed it: One shining moment (of indeterminate length)

By Jon Weisman

On January 15, 2014

In In case you missed it

By Jon Weisman

It happens in the blink of an eye, give or take some blinks …

The Los Angeles Sports Council is holding a fan vote for the area’s top sports (loosely defined) moments of the year. Dodger nominees are “Puig-Mania Sweeps L.A.,” “Dodgers Advance to NLCS” and “Kershaw Wins Cy Young Award.”
Dodger teenager Julio Urias took the No. 5 spot in MLB.com’s ratings of left-handed pitching prospects.
Baseball Prospectus is hosting a gathering April 26 at Dodger Stadium that includes special guests and a Q&A leading into the Dodgers’ game against the Rockies.
For those still tracking Hiroki Kuroda, an analysis by Alex Skillin of Beyond the Box Score is optimistic about his chances for success for the Yankees at age 39 (his birthday is February 10).
Former Dodger catcher Rod Barajas has been hired to manage the Padres’ Rookie League team in the Arizona League, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com (via MLB Trade Rumors) — but he still hasn’t ruled out playing again. (Whether other teams have ruled it out, I leave for you to speculate.) After a .625 OPS in 2012 for Pittsburgh, the 38-year-old Barajas was out of action in 2013.

Glancing at the Dodger starting rotation of 2014 and beyond (Hola, Julio)

By Jon Weisman

On July 6, 2013

In Dodgers

Forgive me for getting ahead of myself here, but the Ricky Nolasco trade interests me as much for what it might mean for future seasons as it does for the current one.

I imagine the Dodgers will re-sign the newly acquired Southern California native, who is eligible to be a free agent after this season, if he does half-decently. Assuming Los Angeles parts ways with Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly by Veterans Day, the Dodgers would greet 2014 featuring Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Nolasco in the first four spots of the starting roation, with Josh Beckett and Stephen Fife among the contenders for the fifth slot. (Hint: Ned Colletti doesn’t figure to want to settle for those two.)

But it could get more fun as springtime progresses, if and when Chad Billingsley (a year removed from Tommy John surgery in April) and Zach Lee (2.79 ERA, 1.121 WHIP, 8.2 K/9 with Double-A Chattanooga) enter the mix. Heck, maybe even someone like a Ross Stripling (2.29 ERA, 1.039 WHIP, 8.6 K/9 with Chattanooga) or a Rob Rassmussen (2.42 ERA, 1.074 WHIP, 8.5 K/9) gets run up the flagpole.

All that aside, I’ll admit that my biggest future question about the Dodger starting rotation is whether Julio Urias will still be a teenager when he arrives in Los Angeles. Urias is so young, he was born August 12, 1996 – the second anniversary of the shutdown of the 1994 baseball season (I was supposed to take my then-girlfriend to the game that night) – giving him three years and change to become a teen team player. He is the youngest pitcher in the Midwest League in decades, and though he initially wasn’t meant to stay there, it’s been hard to kick him out.

The 16-year-old from Mexico has a 2.78 ERA, 1.268 WHIP and 10.6 K/9 with Single-A Great Lakes, for whom Lee – the Dodgers’ No. 1 pitching prospect entering this year – had a 3.47 ERA, 1.220 WHIP and 7.5 K at age 19 in 2011. If Lee is on track for a mid-2014 arrival in the majors (notwithstanding a potential cup of coffee this September), Urias could realistically hit Dodger Stadium before his 20th birthday in 2016.

Like I said, I’m getting ahead of myself. Just having fun thinking about it.

For perspective, Clayton Kershaw had a 2.77 ERA, 1.253 WHIP and 12.4 K/9 with Great Lakes at age 19 in 2007. He was in the majors one year later, two months after turning 20. Urias is arguably the Dodgers’ best pitching prospect in the seven years since they drafted Kershaw, the gold standard.

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Julio Urias (Page 8 of 8)

Julio Urias on Baseball America cover

Intermission: Baseball reacts to Julio Urias

Feel the buzz: Julio Urias strikes out two in perfect inning

You’d think it was Father’s Day

In case you missed it: Caravan on ice

In case you missed it: Stick and move

In case you missed it: One shining moment (of indeterminate length)

Glancing at the Dodger starting rotation of 2014 and beyond (Hola, Julio)

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