Julio Urias

At 28 years old, Julio Urias has this physical status:

Julio César Ur's Acosta (born August 12, 1996) is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He was signed by the Dodgers in 2012 and made his MLB debut in 2016.

Early life

Uras is Carlos Uránas and Juana Isabel Acosta's son. In his early teens, he competed for the Mexico national youth team. Uras met Los Angeles Dodgers scout Mike Brito, who had first scouted Fernando Valenzuela in the late 1970s, at the age of 14. The Dodgers discovered Uras 15 years old in Oaxaca in June 2012 on the same scouting trip in Mexico on which they signed Yasiel Puig. On August 12, the Dodgers acquired him on his 16th birthday. The Dodgers paid a signing fee of US$450,000, the bulk of which went to the Mexican League's Diablos Rojos del México.

Personal life

Ur'as underwent three operations on his left eye in his youth to remove a benign mass. As a result, his left eye is practically shut, but he is able to see through it. Uras, a devout Roman Catholic, said, "That's how God works." He gave me a bad left eye but a good left arm." He underwent elective surgery to correct the disease on May 19, 2015.

Uras was arrested for domestic violence in May 2019. The narcotics lawyer in Los Angeles suspended charges on the condition that Uras attend a hearing, not commit offences against anyone, and complete a 52-week domestic violence counseling course in person.

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Professional career

Uras made his professional debut with the Great Lakes Loons in the Midwest League on May 25, 2013, defeating out six batters in three shutout innings for the first time in the league. With a 2.48 ERA and 54.1 innings, he made 18 starts and finished the season 2–0, with 67 strikeouts in 54.1 innings. He spent 2014 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League. He had appeared in 25 appearances (20 of which were initiated) and was 2–2 with a 2.36 ERA. Although walking only 37 miles, he struck out 109 batters.

Uras was selected to compete for the World team in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game, and was named as the Dodgers' "Minor League Pitcher of the Year" for 2014. He was invited to the team's 2015 major league spring training camp. He was the first to be cut from the roster after two games with a 4.50 ERA and was reassigned to the team's minor league camp on March 14, 2015.

Uras was ranked by MLBpipeline.com as the best left-handed pitching prospect in all of baseball going into the 2015 season. He was ranked as the 8th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com, and Baseball America named him the top prospect in 2015. To begin the 2015 season, the Dodgers have named him to the AA Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League. He was 3-4 with a 2.77 ERA in 13 starts for Tulsa.

Urias was promoted to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers on August 31, 2015. In his first AAA match, he failed to score nine runs in 4+13 innings over two starts. In just one inning in the Pacific Coast League playoffs, he allowed six runs, including a grand slam homer, in just one inning. He was again invited to Dodgers spring training. He was sent to AAA to start the season, where he had a 1.10 ERA in seven starts. During May for Oklahoma City, he had a 27-inning scoreless streak.

Uras was promoted to the Los Angeles Dodgers to make his major league debut against the New York Mets on May 27, 2016. He made his first appearance in the Majors since Félix Hernández in the 2005 season and became the second youngest Dodgers starting pitcher to debut after 18-year-old Rex Barney in 1943. (Joe Moeller, who was 19 years and 55 days old at the start of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is the youngest starter.) Urias failed on his first appearance in his career, taking only 2+2/3 innings while still allowing five hits, three runs, and four walks. Curtis Granderson, the first batter he faced, did strike out three batters out of order. After the game, he was returned to AAA. After starter Alex Wood went on the disabled list three days later, he was recalled to the active roster. Uras made his second appearance against the Chicago Cubs on June 2nd. He gave up 6 runs (5 earned), with three out runs in 5 innings pitched. He took 8 batters and four out 4, and he struck out four more. On June 28, 2016, he won his first major league game against the Milwaukee Brewers, allowing two runs on two hits in six innings. In 1962, Joe Moeller became the first teenage Dodger pitcher to throw 100 pitches in a game since Joe Moeller. He played in 18 games for the Dodgers, 15 of whom were starters, and was 5–2 with a 3.39 ERA, 84 strikeouts, and 31 walks, and was 5–2. With six pickoffs, he led the major leagues in pickoffs.

In game five of the 2016 National League Division Series, Uras pitched two innings of relief, earning the victory. He was the youngest Dodgers pitcher to pitch in the playoffs at 20 years, 62 days old. In game four of the 1956 World Series, he was two weeks younger than Don Drysdale. He was also the fourth youngest pitcher in MLB postseason history, behind Ken Brett (1967 World Series), Bert Blyleven (1970 ALCS), and Don Gullett (1970 NLCS and 1970 World Series). When he started game four of the 2016 National League Championship Series in 2016, he became the youngest pitcher to start a postseason game. In only 3+2/3 innings of the game, he allowed four runs.

The Dodgers opted to keep Uras in extended spring training rather than having him on the first day roster to start 2017, with the intention of limiting his innings so he would not be able to pitch later in the season. On April 27, he rejoined the major league starting lineup. He made five starts with the Dodgers and was 0–2 with a 5.40 ERA. On May 21, he was returned to the minors. Uras tore the anterior capsule in his left shoulder, which ended his 2017 season and necessitated surgery in June.

Uras spent the majority of the 2018 season recovering from his injury, but he didn't begin rehabbing in the minors until July 30. He made three appearances for the Dodgers in the regular season, pitching four scoreless innings in September. Despite that, he was added to the Dodgers roster for the 2018 NLCS and 2018 World Series. In the NLCS, he allowed one run in 3+13 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, as well as one run in three innings against the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

Uras had intended to start in the bullpen in the early going to reduce his innings, but he was forced to begin the season in the rotation due to injuries to Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill. He played four times, including a nine-strike out game (in six innings), while allowing only one hit against the Brewers on April 18, which was the bullpen. On May 6, the Atlanta Braves recorded his first appearance in his career.

Urbas was put on paid administrative leave as a result of a domestic battery investigation, but it was reinstated on May 21. Urias was suspended for 20 games on August 17.

He appeared in 37 games, eight of which were startless, and was 4-3 with a 2.49 ERA and 85 strikeouts. He had the lowest exit velocity (83.2 mph) of those hit by all major league pitchers (83.2 mph). Uras appeared in three of the NLDS' five games against the Washington Nationals, allowing three runs to score in 3+2/3 innings and reporting the loss in Game 4.

Uras has agreed to a one-year, $1 million deal for 2020, avoiding arbitration. He made the Dodgers a full-time starter and went 3–0 in 11 games in the pandemic season. Urys won in the Dodgers' first playoff game of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers' opener, tossing three scoreless innings (with five strikeouts) in relief of Walker Buehler. He was in Game 3 against the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, winning by a single run to start the series. In the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, he was the winning pitcher in the two games in which he appeared. Uras started Game 3 and allowed one run on three hits in five innings, before pitching the final three innings of the series-deciding Game 7, allowing no runners to reach base. Urras then started Game 4 of the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits as well as striking out nine runs. Uras pitched 2+13 scoreless innings to record the save in Game 6 and was on the mound when the Dodgers clinched their championship.

Uras signed with the Dodgers on a one-year, $3.6 million contract for 2021, avoiding arbitration. Urnas had his best season to date, starting more than 20 games in a season for the first time in his career. He ended his 2021 season in 32 games, pitching 185+2/3 innings, a 2.96 ERA, and a 20-3 record, the best in the league. He became the first pitcher in the National League since Max Scherzer in 2016 to win 20 races in a season, the most in the majors in 2021 and only the fourth 20-win season by a Mexican-born pitcher.

Urues won by a single run on three hits in five innings against the San Francisco Giants in the 2021 NLDS, with five strikeouts for the victory. He pitched in the third inning of the series after the Dodgers decided to use two openers. As the Dodgers captured the series, he pitched four innings and allowed one run on three hits. He appeared in a relief role in Game 2 of the 2021 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, where he allowed two runs to score on three hits in only one inning, losing the game. He then started three days later in Game 4 of the series, where he failed, giving five runs on eight hits in five innings to record the loss.

Urzas was signed to the Dodgers for one year and eight million dollars in his second season of salary arbitration.

Uras retained his role in the Dodgers' starting lineup, despite his strong play from last season. Despite having a 3–4 record at the end of May after ten years as an author, he had a 2.8 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and only 12 walks in that time. He went 3-1 in 5 June starts, posting a 2.20 ERA for the month and lowering his overall ERA to 2.64. In two victories over the Cleveland Guardians and the Atlanta Braves, he tossed a combined 12 innings in which he only allowed one earned run and two others in total. Uras was not elected to the All-Star Game despite his good numbers. He went 4-0 in five starts in July, posting a 2.71 ERA for the month.

He pitched a combined 18 innings in three victories against the Giants, Twins, and Brewers, in which he allowed only one run: a Gilberto Celestino single that brought in Gio Urshela against Minnesota on August 9. He went 4–1 in the month, with a 0.9 ERA to go with 34 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched.

Uras ended 17-07 with 166 strikeouts, leading the National League in ERA with 2.16.

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