Mexican Phenom Teen-Age Pitcher to Debut for the Dodgers on Friday
By Francisco Romero. – 19-year-old left handed pitcher Julio Urias will join the Los Angeles Dodgers in New York on Friday and apparently will start against the New York Mets.
The Dodgers made their announcement through their official twitter account Thursday morning.
It is not the first time the Dodgers call up to the majors a Mexican teen-ager; the last time they did it was in 1980, when they called up a lefty from Sonora, Mexico named Fernando Valenzuela, he was 19 at the time of his first call-up.
…And thus Fernandomania started (that is a story for another day).
Urias is the top left-handed prospect, according to MLBpipeline.com and the second overall prospect.
The Mexican teen-ager has been dominant in the minors this year; he is currently in Oklahoma City’s roster where he has a record of 4-1, 1.10 ERA.
Urias currently has a 27-inning scoreless streak in Triple A.
Born in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Urias signed with the Dodgers at the age of 16; Urias will take the place of Alex Wood in the rotation.
Wood has not been placed on the disabled list and is expected to start next Monday, against the Chicago Cubs; he is out with sore triceps.
It is unknown if the Dodgers will keep Urias in the rotation for the rest of the season or if they will use him out of the bullpen; the young pitcher has never thrown more than 87.2 inning in any of his professional seasons.
Urias is expected to start against Met’s Jacob DeGrom on Friday.