Dodgers’ Julio Urias Could Return As Early As May

Julio Urias made his Major League debut on May 27, 2016 when he was just 19 years old. He was on a pitch-count throughout the rest of that season and ended the year with a 3.39 ERA in 77 innings (15 starts).

Urias pitched five starts in 2017, but struggled and was sent back down to triple-A to work on his stuff. Below is video of his last start in 2017, and it’s not pretty.

On June 23rd, the Dodgers announced that the top pitching prospect would undergo left anterior capsule surgery, putting him out for 12-14 months. Thankfully, Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported on Wednesday that,  “[Julio Urias] is progressing well, according to Dodgers officials, who believe he could return to the team as early as May.”

This is great news, considering the Dodgers still need to figure out who their number 5 starter will be in 2018. I think it’s safe to say that Los Angeles’ 2018 pitching staff will definitely consist of Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Alex Wood, and Kenta Maeda. Beyond that, the Dodgers have options such as Hyun-Jin Ryu, Julio Urias, and maybe even Walker Buehler.

Hyun-Jin Ryu was excellent, for the most part, in 2017. In 24 starts, Ryu put up a 3.77 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Walker Buehler made his Major League debut on September 7th, and went on to pitch a total of 9.1 innings before the season ended. His ERA (7.71) and WHIP (2.04) are pretty skewed thanks to a couple of bad appearances. However, he definitely showed some promising signs that he could be a threat at the Major League level.

With Julio Urias coming off of shoulder surgery, I imagine that the Dodgers will be slow in bringing him back. What do you think the plan will be for Julio Urias in 2018? Let us know in the comments below!