Urias might be making rotation question easier

Phil Gurnee ♦ May 21, 2017 ♦ 3 Comments

With seven starting pitchers for five spots, Julio Urias might be making the tough front office decision easier.  Other than one start, Urias simply hasn’t cut muster so far this season.  Critics of this statement can point to his three starts where he has given up fewer than one run three times in five starts. I prefer to look at the command/control/dominance. Urias has now walked fourteen hitters in only twenty three innings, with just eleven strikeouts.  This is not the arm we saw last summer and if he needs some time in AAA to get his command together, now would be a good time to make it happen while the Dodgers have an abundance of starting options.

I’m a huge Urias fan, it is because of Urias I started writing again last May, but I’m not sure he needs to struggle at the major league level right now when the Dodgers have other options.

Date     Rslt   IP  H ER BB SO
Apr27    W5-1  5.2  4  1  4  4
May3     L1-4  5.0  4  0  4  1
May9     W4-3  6.1  1  1  2  5
May14    L6-9  4.0  7  6  1  1
May20   L6-10  2.1  7  6  3  0
          2-3 23.1 23 14 14 11

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/21/2017.

[Update at 11:54 AM]

DODGERS RECALL JOSH RAVIN –  The Los Angeles Dodgers today recalled right-handed pitcher Josh Ravin from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned left-handed pitcher Julio Urías to Triple-A OKC.

Ravin, 29, will make his first stint with the big league club this year after going 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA (1 ER/5.0 IP) in four games with the OKC Dodgers. He has struck out 11 batters against only two walks in 5.0 innings with Oklahoma City and has held batters to a .167 average (3-for-18). Ravin, who started the season on the disabled list with a right groin strain, appeared in 10 games for the Dodgers last year allowing just one run in 9.2 innings (0.93 ERA) and limited batters to a .065 average (2-for-31), while striking out 13 against four walks. The West Hills native is in his third season with Los Angeles, going 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA (8 ER/19.0 IP) in 19 career games, while punching out 25 batters in 19.0 innings.

Urías, 20, pitched last night against the Marlins allowing a career-high seven runs (six earned) on seven hits in 2.1 innings, his shortest outing as a starter, as he took his second loss of the season in the Dodgers’ 10-6 defeat. In five starts this season, Urías has gone 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA (14 ER/23.1 IP) and has struck out 11 batters against 14 walks.