Los Angeles Dodgers: 2019 grades for every player

Julio Urias: A-

You might be surprised to see Julio Urias with such a good grade for the 2019 season. Urias kind of flew under the radar as one of the pitchers on the Los Angeles Dodgers but he put together a great year that is an indication of even better things to come in the future.

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Urias spent most of the year in the bullpen as the Dodgers wanted to conserve his innings but get him back in the swing of things and the plan worked out perfectly. Not only did Urias set a career-best in ERA but he set a career-high in innings pitched as well.

Urias appeared in 37 games, eight of which were starts, and finished the year with 79 and two-thirds innings pitched. He ended the year with a 2.49 ERA, 85 strikeouts and a 1.079 WHIP.

Urias finished ninth in the MLB in ERA for pitchers that had at least 70 innings pitched.

Urias was groomed to be the ace of the Dodgers rotation for years to come, a role that Walker Buehler has since inherited with Urias’ injury past. However, Urias showed that he might still be on that path in 2019 and is still only 23 years old.

Urias and Buehler could be the best 1-2 punch in baseball in two-three years, which is yet another promising example for the Dodgers’ player development.