Julio Urias deserves a break from everyone

Julio Urias likely to get another chance as you cannot base his record and skill off his first two major league games with questionable management decisions.

Remember back to that magical opening week when the Dodgers outscored the Padres in their series 25-0?

If you can then that memory can serve as a good source of consolation, if you’ve been keeping up with the team since the end of that series.

Just as it was last season the team’s offensive woes are front and center, with the team’s current combined batting average being good enough for the 24th spot in the league.

Keeping that in mind, we now turn to Julio Urias, the widely regarded top pitching prospect by many and the so-called second coming of Clayton Kershaw.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it – his two major league starts were simply disastrous.

In two outings as starting pitcher, one lasting only 2 ⅔ innings and the other just 5 innings, Urias has accumulated an ERA of 9.39, a WHIP of 2.35, and given up 3 HRs.

All three of those home runs came in his second outing against the Cubs, with the last two coming on not only back-to-back batters, but back-to-back pitches.

How Urias wasn’t pulled by Roberts immediately, but allowed to finish out the rest of the inning, is a testament to Roberts’ restraint.

Urias would sit quietly in the dugout for the remainder of the game, getting a few words of advice from a role model Scott Kazmir, all while watching the Cubs eventually add on a run to their lead and take the series closer 7-2.

It was a tough lesson for Urias whom, until now we can safely say, had probably forgotten what it felt like to be tested on the mound. 

Just as the Dodgers had the fortune of playing against the lowly Padres, circumstance likewise played a good part in the results of Urias first two outings, pitching against the first-place Mets and the number-one offense in the Cubs.

This is not to say that had Urias pitched against a cold team like the Braves or Phillies, he would have been spectacular.

Rather to have judged Urias on his overall success for the season on these outings alone, is not only a mistake, but frankly unfair to a prospect with as much pedigree as Urias.

The 19-year-old knows what he’s up against now.

He knows that many of the pitches he would have put batters away with in the minors are leaving the umpires behind the plates here unconvinced.

He knows that hitters – well – they can hit and how he decides to use that knowledge is up to him. 

As for now, Urias’ temporarily fate is in the hands of the Dodgers management, which is said to be meeting on the matter sometime soon. 

“We’re going to talk about that, but I think that we haven’t made that decision yet,” Roberts told ESPN. “After this I’ll get together with the guys and we’ll figure out what is best for us.”

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Should Urias remain in the lineup, it would be interesting to see how the young pitcher’s home debut performance will play out.

Against the right team in the right atmosphere, Urias might just be able to find his ideal footing on the mound and win over the crowd that matters.