Urias, 19, will make his Major League debut on Friday, in NY, against the Mets.
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The move will give Alex Wood a chance to rest his sore triceps. The Dodgers made a point to say the Wood is expected to make his next start in the rotation, though, so he isn’t expected to be out long. The Dodgers signed Urias to a minor league deal when he was just 16 years old. Urias will be the first teen to start for the team since Dick Calmus in 1963.
Urias, the No. 2 prospect in baseball, is the youngest player to make their MLB debut since Felix Hernandez’s debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2005, according to Jon Weisman of Dodgers Insider. He’s often been compared to fellow Mexican left-hander Fernando Valenzuela, who won National League Rookie o f the Year and the NL Cy Young Award in 1981.
The Dodgers assigned him to the AA Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League to start the 2015 season. He struggled in his first AAA action, allowing nine runs in 4 1/3 innings over two starts. The club could add him to the bullpen, something manager Dave Roberts has mentioned, as a way to limit his innings. In part, Los Angeles curbed his use because of non-invasive cosmetic surgery to remove a benign mass near his left eye. He was invited to the team’s major league spring training camp a year ago, but was the first to be cut from the roster after pitching in two games with a 4.50 ERA.
Still, Urias is considered the Dodgers’ best pitching prospect since Clayton Kershaw, which makes his debut an exciting time for the organization.
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In 41 innings for Oklahoma City, Urias has a 1.10 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with 44 strikeouts and just eight walks.
