Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Urias Arrives
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It’s been over 10 years since we’ve seen a teenage starting pitcher in the majors. That streak is about to come to an end.
The Dodgers will call up 19-year-old Julio Urias from Triple-A Oklahoma City to make his major league debut on Friday against the Mets at Citi Field. He’s replacing Alex Wood, who has been pushed back to Monday because of a tight triceps.
There’s been buzz surrounding Urias since he debuted in pro ball as a 16-year-old back in 2013 in Low-A. The left-hander has dominated at every step along the way even though he’s been significantly younger than the average player in his league. Urias has posted a 2.63 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 308/83 K/BB ratio over 263 1/3 innings in the minors, including a 1.10 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 44/8 K/BB ratio through 41 frames this season at Oklahoma City. The southpaw currently has a 27-inning scoreless streak in the Pacific Coast League, a league where he’s eight years younger than the average pitcher.
Even though he won’t turn 20 until August, Urias sure seems well-equipped to succeed in the majors right away. The bigger question is how the Dodgers will use him beyond Friday. The Dodgers expect Wood to avoid the DL, Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder) has progressed well in his rehab assignment and Brandon McCarthy (elbow) could be a rotation option around the All-Star break. There’s also Ross Stripling, who is currently at Triple-A but who has been adequate as a rotation fill-in this season.
One thing is for certain: Urias isn’t in the big league rotation for good. The Dodgers have been extremely cautious in how they’ve handled the phenom’s workload, as he hasn’t gone more than 87 2/3 innings in a season and he hasn’t thrown more than six innings or 82 pitches in an outing this year.
Assuming Wood does indeed avoid the DL, there’s a strong possibility that this is just a spot start for Urias. However, Dodgers president Andrew Friedman noted Thursday that Urias could split time between the rotation and bullpen in order to keep his workload down. He could still have some deep league value even if he’s only pitching a few innings per week, although those in redrafts shouldn’t drop anyone significant for him or blow out their FAAB budget. Still, it should be a blast to get a look at Urias for however long he’s up.
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Moose Tracked Down
The collision between Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon on Sunday in Chicago has proved to be very costly for the Royals.
Gordon was placed on the disabled list Monday and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a broken scaphoid bone in his right wrist. However, the news with Moustakas is much worse. After initially resisting putting Moose on the DL in hopes that his right knee would improve in a few days, the Royals eventually sent the third baseman to undergo an MRI. The exam revealed a torn ACL, which will knock Moustakas out for the rest of the season.
It’s obviously brutal news for the Royals, as they’re now poised to go with Cheslor Cuthbert and possibly Whit Merrifield at third base. They also have Christian Colon and Hunter Dozier at Triple-A Omaha, with Dozier probably being the most intriguing option of the bunch. The former No. 8 overall pick has bounced back from an awful 2015 campaign with a terrific start to 2016, as he’s batting .301/.370/.590 with 12 homers and 36 RBI between Double- and Triple-A. The Royals looking outside the organization for help would also seem to be a possibility.
Of course, no matter who the Royals ultimately go with as a replacement, they’re almost surely looking at a loss in production at third base, and most likely a significant one. Moustakas is coming off an All-Star season that saw him hit .284/.348/.470 with 22 homers and 82 RBI. He had just a .240 average and .301 on-base percentage so far in 2016 but was on pace for 25 longballs.
Sabathia Surging
Don’t look now, but CC Sabathia is suddenly an effective pitcher again.
Sabathia continued his strong showing in May on Thursday, recording seven strikeouts while allowing only two unearned runs across seven innings against a Blue Jays team that has a reputation for feasting on left-handed pitching. In three outings this month, the big left-hander boasts a 0.45 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 21/4 K/BB ratio across 20 frames.
Some context is needed here, of course. Sabathia did not pitch well in April, putting up a 5.06 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 15/11 K/BB ratio over 21 1/3 innings. He’s also seen his velocity continue to tumble in the wrong direction.
However, keep in mind that this is a guy who posted a 4.81 ERA over 69 starts across the previous three campaigns while battling major injury issues. His recent surge has been brief, but he’ll take it after what he’s dealt with on and off the field recently. It’s hard to recommend Sabathia in fantasy leagues at this point, but he’s at least put himself back on the radar.
National League Quick Hits: Jose Fernandez struck out 12 across seven innings of one-run ball in Thursday’s win over the Rays … Major League Baseball has suspended Hector Olivera 82 games for his involvement in an alleged domestic violence incident last month … Matt Carpenter (paternity leave) will rejoin the Cardinals on Saturday … Adeiny Hechavarria went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer against the Rays on Thursday … Shelby Miller is still dealing with discomfort in a finger on his right hand and could be placed on the disabled list, with Archie Bradley possibly replacing him in the Diamondbacks’ rotation … Giancarlo Stanton (side) missed a second straight game Thursday … Asdrubal Cabrera (back) hopes to return to the lineup Friday … Joe Ross struck out four over seven innings of one-run ball in Thursday’s victory over the Cardinals … Carlos Gonzalez had two hits, including a two-run homer, in Thursday’s victory over the Red Sox … Bryce Harper launched a mammoth solo home run in Thursday’s win over the Cardinals … Matt Adams left Thursday’s game against the Nationals with mid-back stiffness … Jonathan Villar went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored in Thursday’s win over the Braves …
American League Quick Hits: Rougned Odor‘s suspension has been reduced from eight games to seven and he will begin serving it Friday. Jurickson Profar will be recalled on Friday and should see regular time at second base while Odor serves his suspension … George Springer hit a pair of solo home runs in the Astros’ win over the Orioles on Thursday … Kendrys Morales will miss 3-4 days of action with a sprained right middle finger … Mark Teixeira received a cortisone injection for his sore neck on Thursday and is expected to be unavailable through Saturday … Troy Tulowitzki (quad) missed a second straight game Thursday … Alex Rodriguez (hamstring) returned from the disabled list Thursday and went hitless in four at-bats … Logan Forsythe (shoulder) took grounders on Wednesday … J.A. Happy tossed seven frames of one-run ball in Thursday’s win over the Yankees … CC Sabathia struck out seven and allowed just two unearned runs versus the Blue Jays on Thursday … Leonys Martin (hamstring) only expects to miss a couple of games … Sonny Gray (shoulder) played catch on Thursday … Red Sox manager John Farrell indicated after another poor Clay Buchholz start Thursday that the right could be booted from the rotation …
