Dodgers Prospect Spotlight – Julio Urias

By Guest Writer
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Updated: February 21, 2016

Age: 19

Possibly the most polarizing prospect in the Dodger’s very deep farm system (Corey Seager excluded), the 19-year old Mexican born Julio Urias brings an experience, feel and skill set far beyond his years. With a fastball that touches 96, a plus curveball, and a slider and changeup that project as solid to plus pitches as well, Urias has superstar written all over him.

While being scouted, Urias had a couple of red flags that had scouts worried. The first, and possibly biggest, was the fact that Urias was throwing about 90 miles an hour, and scouts thought he would max out there. Because of this he projected out as a back-end starter.

Urias also had a tumor removed from his left eye as a child, leading some clubs to worry about future blindness. The Dodgers, however, did some extensive research and found that, not only would there not be any future issues, but Urias could see just fine out of both eyes.

After being signed with three other Mexican league prospects for a grand total of 1.8 million dollars, Urias was placed in low Class-A ball in Great Lakes, Michigan. Not only did Urias thrive at that level, but he made it to AAA Oklahoma City before his nineteenth birthday and has gained another 4-5 mph on his fastball, turning him from a back-end of the rotation pitcher to a can’t miss prospect.

With a combined ERA of 2.91 across 3 levels of the Minor Leagues and a 10.7 K/9 average, Urias has proven to be dominant in any situation. All of this, combined with his smooth, fluid, easy-to-repeat delivery projects him out as a frontline starter at the next level, meaning he could see action as soon as the 2016 season for the Dodgers.

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