Los Angeles Dodgers: Should Julio Urias be called up as a reliever?
By Tim Haberin
The Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly considering promoting top prospect Julio Urias to use out of the bullpen. Is that a good idea for the 19-year-old?
The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen hasn’t inspired much confidence over the season’s first five weeks. As a unit, Dodgers relievers own a middling 4.16 ERA, good for 19th in Major League Baseball. That number climbs to 4.73 if you remove closer Kenley Jansen from the equation (12 IP, 1 ER).
Help could be on the way, however, from a rather surprising source: 19-year-old top prospect Julio Urias.
According to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, manager Dave Roberts spoke about the possibility during the team’s weekend series in Toronto: “We’re looking at a lot of options. Urias is definitely at the top of the list.”
Urias is currently ranked as the #1 prospect in the Dodgers farm system by MLB Pipeline, and the #2 prospect in all of baseball. The hype seems warranted, too: in 13 starts at Double-A Tulsa last year, the left-hander posted a 2.77 ERA over 68.1 innings. He’s gotten off to an even better start this season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, managing a 1.88 ERA in 24 frames.
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Calling up Urias to use him out of the bullpen rather than the rotation would be a debatable move, though. Urias obviously projects to be a starting pitcher (a darn good one) long-term; would putting him into a reliever role mess with his overall development?
As a relief pitcher, his schedule would naturally become much more unpredictable. For a young hurler, taking the mound every five or six days and hitting your innings targets is typically how one acclimates to pitching at the major league level. Starting pitchers are all about routine, and it’s worth wondering if it might be better for Urias to keep throwing regularly in the minors.
Nevertheless, Shaikin points out that Urias is on an innings limit this year no matter where he pitches. He tossed 80 frames in 2015 and they likely don’t want him to go too high above that this season. Working out of the bullpen would help in that regard, while allowing the Dodgers to benefit from Urias’ elite skills on the big league stage.
To get a better sense of those elite skills, watch Urias cap off a five-inning, eight-strikeout night on April 22:
Which brings us to another point: even though he’s only 19 (a true wunderkind even by today’s standards), should the Dodgers really keep him down in the minors even if his performance suggests he’s ready? Even though it’s still relatively early in the campaign, his numbers at Triple-A are hard to ignore. This is a franchise that wants to win now; why shouldn’t they use everything in their arsenal?
While this kind of scenario has its share of cautionary tales (Joba Chamberlain, anyone?), there are legitimate success stories as well. Another talented southpaw by the name of Chris Sale got his start in the bullpen. The Chicago White Sox ace debuted in 2010 at age 21 and made the first 79 appearances of his career in relief, working a 2.58 ERA over that span. The rest, as they say, is history, as Sale has become one of the most dominant starters in the game.
The Dodgers would certainly accept a similar turn of events in the case of Urias. Bringing him up now and allowing him to get his feet wet in the majors could also pay dividends in the not-so-distant future. With the exceptions of Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda, the Dodgers rotation has largely struggled so far in 2016, with Scott Kazmir and Alex Wood carrying ERAs over 5.00. If Urias impresses as a reliever, he might end up getting an opportunity to start this year anyway.
What do you think? Should the Dodgers promote Urias to use him as a lefty out of the bullpen? Or would they be better off taking things slow with the 19-year-old top prospect? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.