This year has been difficult for Julio Urías, but in August, he has been superb. Entering his free agent offseason, Urìas is making a case to have a reasonably big contract.
Debuting in the major leagues as a 19-year-old on May 24, 2016, Urìas has experienced everything at the MLB level. He was a rookie phenomenon until he suffered a major shoulder injury that required surgery and a long rehabilitation process.
The Dodgers used Urìas as a reliever and a starter throughout his first couple seasons, and he was even on the mound getting the last out of the 2020 World Series.
However, Urìas hasn’t had a season like this one.
One culprit has potentially been the pitch clock, as he clearly had trouble adjusting. Before the clock, he would take his time when he was in a difficult situation during a game. Now, he can’t. He needed better conditioning to deal with the clock.
Additionally, Urìas was placed on the IL for a long stint this year. This May, he suffered a hamstring pull and took some time to recover. In July, when he returned, he had his ups and downs, including his worst major league start.
During August, however, Urìas has been himself again, making a case to be the National League Pitcher of the Month. In his last four starts, he has an incredible 1.44 ERA, allowing just four earned runs in 25 innings. And in the only start he allowed more than one earned run this month, he struck out a tied-for-career-best 12 batters.
During his major league career, Urìas has tended to perform better in the second half of the season. True, during this month, he faced both the Oakland Athletics and the Colorado Rockies, but he pitched equally as well against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Miami Marlins, two teams competing for a playoff berth.
The Dodgers and Urìas hope his newfound dominance will continue through the postseason, as that would put them — and him — in great shape moving forward.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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