Julio Urías is having the best season of his career and emerging as the ace of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ very talented pitching staff that leads all teams in ERA.
The left-hander has pitched to a 2.29 ERA in 145.2 innings with a 3.62 FIP, 8.59 strikeouts per nine, 2.10 walks per nine and a 0.95 WHIP over 26 starts. Although Tony Gonsolin has him beat with a 2.10 ERA, it’s Urías who Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said had emerged as the pitching staff’s leader.
Urías, however, believes his job is to just go out and pitch when he’s asked to, so he isn’t putting any focus on the title and isn’t making a case to open the postseason for the Dodgers.
“We’re a very talented group, so that’s not where my focus is,” Urías said through a translator. “My focus is on finishing the last month strong. We have a talented group that’s able to do a lot of things, and I’m just going to focus on learning from them and going from start to start.”
While Urías might not care about pitching Game 1 of the National League Division Series for the Dodgers, Roberts would be “very, very” comfortable if the southpaw was leading his staff in October.
“We’re putting ourselves in situation where we can set the rotation, but he’s a top-end guy,” Roberts said. “Every year he’s gotten better and earned that potential opportunity.”
Along with his National League-best ERA among qualified pitchers, Urías is also second in WHIP (0.95) and batting average against (.196), third in wins (15), and 19th in strikeouts (139) and innings pitched (145.2),
Freddie Freeman believes Julio Urías deserves Cy Young consideration
After Urías’ outing against the Milwaukee Brewers, Freddie Freeman shared his belief that the southpaw has put himself into the discussion for 2022 NL Cy Young Award.
Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara is the presumptive favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, but the Atlanta Braves’ Kyle Wright, Dodgers teammate Tony Gonsolin, and possibly even New York Mets’ closer Edwin Díaz should all draw consideration.
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