Julio Urias

The Dodgers took the wraps off their top pitching prospect on Friday night. Julio Urias became the first under-20-year old hurler in the majors since Felix Hernandez 11 years ago. The native of Mexico showed poise, but also had trouble finding the strike zone.

Deep counts were his problem; after reading that the Dodgers hadn't let him throw more than 82 pitches anytime this season, it was clear he was going to have a short night... But this was far shorter than imagined. He walked four and struck out three while recording just eight outs from his 81 pitches.

The Mets touched him up for three runs in the 1st inning. And they were threatening again when manager Dave Roberts pulled Urias after 2-2/3 innings. But there were plenty of signals that the young man is a quality pitcher -- he was poised and focused. Seeing him paint the corner to strike out Curtis Granderson looking in the 1st inning was notable (photo on right).

Urias is just a little too raw to make the jump to the majors right now. It's too easy, due to the combination of his and the Dodgers heritage to annoint him "another Fernando Valenzuela." Perhaps going by historical measure, he compares more to another unfinished and erratic 19-year old lefty once seen in Dodger Blue: the rookie Sandy Koufax. (Please don't jump the gun on that comment -- go look it up, the young Koufax was the textbook definition of raw.)

Most players Julio Urias' age are in college or the low minors. So give him a break and an "INC" on the report card.

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