Coming off a season in which he was the only pitcher to win 20 games, Julio Urías was expected to hold a key role in the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation this year.
Urías’ 2022 campaign got off to a rocky start as sloppy defense and some lack of sharpness resulted in only pitching two innings in a loss to the Colorado Rockies on April 10. Urías followed that with five consecutive outings of two earned runs or fewer allowed.
However, his fastball velocity remained below both last year’s and career averages. An uptick in fastball velocity has come as the season wore on, and Urías remains among the sport’s top pitchers.
After his outing against the Milwaukee Brewers, Freddie Freeman posited that Urías has put himself into the discussion for 2022 National League Cy Young Award, via SportsNet LA:
“I know he was not an All-Star, but we’ve got to be getting close to being in the Cy Young race. Every single time he goes out there, it’s a chance for us to win and a chance for him to throw a scoreless outing. It’s been amazing. For me, ever since he got in the league, he’s been one of the plus arms. Left arms like that don’t come around very often. Lucky enough to have him on our team. He’s been fantastic all season.”
Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara is the presumptive favorite for the NL Cy Young Award. The Dodgers did find success against the right-hander on Sunday, which resulted in Alcántara allowing a season-worst six runs in just 3.2 innings.
That resulted in the Dodgers not only completing a series sweep, but Tony Gonsolin becoming the ERA leader among qualified pitchers in the NL. Gonsolin’s 2.12 ERA is now superior’s to Alcántara’s 2.19 mark, and they’re followed by Urías at third with a 2.40 ERA.
Gonsolin also has put himself into the Cy Young debate, and Tyler Anderson has also pitched well this season.
Urías didn’t dwell on All-Star Game snub
Through a combination of fan voting, pitchers and injury replacements, the Dodgers had six players selected to the 2022 All-Star Game. Although Urías was not among them at Dodger Stadium, he didn’t become consumed with being an All-Star Game snub.
In terms of the Cy Young Award, Urías’ only time receiving votes and appearing on the ballot thus far was with a seventh-place finish last season.
Clayton Kershaw was the Dodgers’ last Cy Young Award winner in 2014.
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