Julio Urías facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Julio Urías |
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Urías pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 4 the 2016 NLCS
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| Free agent | ||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | ||||||||||||||
| Born: August 12, 1996 Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico |
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| debut | ||||||||||||||
| May 27, 2016, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) |
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| Win–loss record | 60–25 | |||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.11 | |||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 710 | |||||||||||||
| Teams | ||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Julio César Urías Acosta (born August 12, 1996) is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher. He is known by his nickname "El Culichi". Julio Urías is currently a free agent, meaning he is not signed to any team.
He started his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. He then made his first appearance in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2016. Urías was a top player, leading the National League in wins in 2021. He also led the league in earned run average (ERA) in 2022. He was recognized as one of the best pitchers, being named to the All-MLB Second Team in both 2021 and 2022. In September 2023, MLB placed him on administrative leave. He has not pitched in MLB since then and became a free agent.
Contents
Early Life and Baseball Beginnings
Julio Urías is the son of Carlos Urías and Juana Isabel Acosta. When he was a teenager, he played for the Mexico national youth team. At age 14, Urías met Los Angeles Dodgers scout Mike Brito. Brito was famous for scouting another Mexican baseball legend, Fernando Valenzuela, years earlier.
In June 2012, the Dodgers found 15-year-old Urías at a special baseball event in Oaxaca, Mexico. This was on the same trip where they signed another future star, Yasiel Puig. The Dodgers officially signed Urías on August 12, which was his 16th birthday. The team paid $450,000 for him. Most of this money went to the Diablos Rojos del México, a team in the Mexican League.
Professional Baseball Journey
Starting in the Minor Leagues
Julio Urías began his professional career on May 25, 2013. He played for the Great Lakes Loons in the Midwest League. At the time, he was the youngest player in that league. In his first game, he struck out six batters and didn't allow any runs over three innings.
He made 18 starts that season, finishing with a 2–0 record and a 2.48 ERA. He also had 67 strikeouts in 54.1 innings. In 2014, he played for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the California League. He appeared in 25 games, starting 20 of them, and had a 2–2 record with a 2.36 ERA. He struck out 109 batters while walking only 37.
Urías was chosen to play for the World team in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game. He was also named the Dodgers' "Minor League Pitcher of the Year" for 2014. He was even invited to the Dodgers' main spring training camp in 2015. After pitching in two games, he was sent back to the minor league camp.
Experts at MLBpipeline.com ranked Urías as the best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball for 2015. MLB.com ranked him the 8th-best prospect overall, and Baseball America called him the #10 prospect. The Dodgers sent him to the AA Tulsa Drillers in the Texas League to start the 2015 season. He had a 3–4 record with a 2.77 ERA in 13 starts for Tulsa.
On August 31, 2015, Urías was promoted to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers. He had some tough games at first. He was invited to the Dodgers' spring training again. He started the 2016 season in AAA, where he had a 4–1 record with a 1.10 ERA in seven starts. He even had a streak of 27 scoreless innings in May for Oklahoma City.
Playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2016–2023)
2016: His Rookie Season
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Julio Urías was called up to the Los Angeles Dodgers to make his first Major League Baseball (MLB) appearance on May 27, 2016. He pitched against the New York Mets. At 19 years old, he was one of the youngest starting pitchers to debut in MLB in many years.
His first game was a bit tough. He pitched for only 2.2 innings, giving up five hits, three runs, and four walks. However, he did strike out three batters, including the first one he faced. He was sent back to AAA after the game but returned to the Dodgers' roster a few days later.
Urías earned his first MLB win on June 28, 2016, against the Milwaukee Brewers. He allowed only two runs on two hits in six innings. He pitched in 18 games for the Dodgers that year, starting 15 of them. He finished with a 5–2 record, a 3.39 ERA, 84 strikeouts, and 31 walks. He was also very good at picking off runners, leading the major leagues with six pickoffs.
In the postseason, Urías pitched two innings in Game 5 of the 2016 National League Division Series. He earned the win, becoming the youngest Dodgers pitcher ever to play in the postseason at 20 years and 62 days old. He also became the youngest pitcher ever to start a postseason game when he started Game 4 of the 2016 National League Championship Series.
2017: Dealing with an Injury
The Dodgers decided to have Urías start the 2017 season in extended spring training. This was to limit the number of innings he pitched early in the season so he could pitch more later. He joined the main team's starting rotation on April 27. He made five starts for the Dodgers, with an 0–2 record and a 5.40 ERA. He was sent back to the minor leagues on May 21.
In June, while pitching for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Urías injured his left shoulder. This injury ended his 2017 season and required surgery.
2018: Coming Back Strong
Urías spent most of the 2018 season recovering from his shoulder surgery. He didn't start playing in the minor leagues again until July 30. He made three appearances for the Dodgers in September, pitching four innings without allowing any runs.
Even though he pitched only a little, he was added to the Dodgers' roster for the 2018 NLCS and 2018 World Series. He allowed one run in 3.1 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS. He also allowed one run in three innings against the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.
2019: Facing Challenges and Returning to Play
Urías was planned to start the 2019 season in the bullpen to manage his pitching time. However, injuries to other pitchers like Clayton Kershaw meant he started the season in the main pitching rotation. He made four starts, including a game on April 18 where he struck out nine batters in six innings and allowed only one hit against the Brewers. After this, he moved to the bullpen. He earned his first career save on May 6 against the Atlanta Braves.
In 2019, Julio Urías faced a period of administrative leave and later a suspension. He returned to play later that season. He appeared in 37 games, with eight starts, and finished with a 4–3 record, a 2.49 ERA, and 85 strikeouts. Balls hit against him had the lowest average speed of those hit against all major league pitchers. Urías played in three of the five games in the NLDS against the Washington Nationals.
2020: World Series Champions
Urías signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Dodgers for the 2020 season. In the 2020 season, which was shorter due to the pandemic, he became a full-time starting pitcher for the Dodgers. He finished with a 3–0 record and a 3.27 ERA in 11 games.
Urías earned a win in the Dodgers' first playoff game of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched three scoreless innings in relief. In the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, he pitched five innings, allowing only one unearned run, to help the Dodgers win the series.
In the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, he was the winning pitcher in both games he played. Urías started Game 3 and allowed one run in five innings. He then pitched the final three innings of the deciding Game 7, not allowing any runners to reach base, helping the Dodgers win the series.
Urías then started Game 4 of the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits, and struck out nine batters. In Game 6, Urías entered in the 7th inning and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the save. He was on the mound when the Dodgers won their championship!
2021: Leading the National League in Wins
Urías signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract with the Dodgers for the 2021 season. This was the first time in his career that he started more than 20 games in a season, and it turned out to be his best season yet.
He finished his 2021 season with 32 starts, pitching 185.2 innings. He had 195 strikeouts, a 2.96 ERA, and an impressive 20–3 record. This was the best record in the league! He became the first pitcher in the National League since Max Scherzer in 2016 to get 20 wins in a season. This was also the most wins in MLB in 2021 and only the fourth time a Mexican-born pitcher achieved 20 wins.
Urías started Game 2 of the 2021 NLDS against the San Francisco Giants. He allowed only one run on three hits in five innings with five strikeouts, earning the win. He also pitched in the deciding Game 5 of the series, helping the Dodgers win. He later appeared in a relief role in Game 2 of the 2021 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves. He then started Game 4 of the series.
2022: Leading the National League in ERA
Urías signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Dodgers for the 2022 season. He continued his excellent performance from the previous season and kept his spot in the Dodgers' starting rotation.
Even though his win-loss record was 3–4 at the end of May, he had a strong 2.89 ERA. He also had 42 strikeouts and only 12 walks during that time. In June, he went 3–1 in five starts, lowering his overall ERA to 2.64. He pitched 12 combined innings in two wins against the Cleveland Guardians and the Atlanta Braves, allowing only one earned run.
Despite his great numbers, Urías was not chosen for the All-Star Game. After the All-Star break, he went 4–0 in five starts in July, with a 2.71 ERA for the month. To start August, he pitched 18 combined innings in three wins against the Giants, Twins, and Brewers, allowing only one run. He finished August with a 4–1 record and an amazing 0.90 ERA. For the entire season, Urías finished with a 17–7 record and 166 strikeouts. He led the National League in ERA with 2.16.
2023: The End of His Time with the Dodgers
Urías signed a one-year, $14.25 million contract with the Dodgers for the 2023 season. He played for the Mexico national baseball team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He made two starts and struck out 10 batters.
He was named the Dodgers' opening day starter for 2023, allowing two runs in six innings in that game. He later went on the injured list in mid-May due to a hamstring injury, which kept him from playing until July 1.
Urías made 21 starts for the Dodgers in 2023, with an 11–8 record and a 4.60 ERA. In September 2023, MLB placed him on administrative leave. His contract with the Dodgers ended at the close of the season, making him a free agent.
Pitching Style
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Julio Urías uses a fastball as his main pitch. It usually travels between 90 and 95 miles per hour, sometimes reaching 97 mph. He also throws a changeup, a curveball, and a slider. His changeup is slower, in the low 80s.
His curveball first moved mostly sideways, like a "slurve." But during the 2016 season, he changed how he held the ball to make it move more up and down. He started using his slider in 2015. Urías is also known for his excellent pickoff move, which is how a pitcher tries to get a runner out who is off base. He led the major leagues in pickoffs during his rookie season with six.
Personal Life
When Julio Urías was young, he had three surgeries on his left eye to remove a harmless growth. Because of this, his left eye is almost closed, but he can still see through it. When people ask him about his eye, Urías, who is a Roman Catholic, often says, "That's how God works. He gave me a bad left eye but a good left arm." On May 19, 2015, he had another surgery to help with the condition.
See also
In Spanish: Julio Urías para niños
- List of Major League Baseball players from Mexico
- List of World Series starting pitchers
- Los Angeles Dodgers award winners and league leaders
