Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Dave Roberts Raves Over Julio Urias’ Growth into ‘Frontline Starter’

Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias secured his Major-League leading 17th victory during Friday’s series opener against the San Diego Padres. 

The 25-year-old lefty tossed seven scoreless innings, striking out seven in a 3-0 victory over San Diego. 

Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts raved about his star pitcher’s ascension to one of the league’s premier arms, citing his maturity as a huge factor in his growth as a player. 

“He’s a frontline starter,” Roberts said of Urias. “When he takes the baseball, we expect him to win and for him to go deep [on Friday night] shows that growth and maturity. I can’t say enough about him.” 

It’s hard for anyone to deny the dominant season that star right-hander Walker Buehler is having when it comes to end of the year accolades. 

Buehler has been in the discussion as a potential Cy Young Award winner throughout the second half of the season and rightfully so. 

And sharing the mound with the likes of Buehler and Max Scherzer has made it easy for many to overlook the astonishing year that Urias is having. 

Nevertheless, the 2020 postseason hero has undoubtedly been one of the more valuable players on the Dodgers quest for a title defense this year. 

In 28 games started, Urias owns an eye-popping 17-3 record with 175 Ks and 1.03 WHIP in 2021. On top of that, he currently possesses a 2.98 ERA, 10th-best in baseball.

NEXT: Dave Roberts Hoping for a Spark Out of Gavin Lux in the Lineup

6 Comments

  1. Dodger pitching is ridiculous. Urias and Bueller are stars. Add a guy called Mad Max and nobody has a trio as good. Nobody. With Kersh and Gonsolin back we are that much better. Bullpen speaks for itself, amazing. That said, it all comes down to the offense. Racking up pitch counts and crushing balls in the zone was the winning formula last year as the end result speaks for itself….Other teams knew we were doing it and it didn’t matter. And when the shift is on, roll one through that massive weakness and more will score. Last seasons ‘blue’ print was unstoppable. No reason to believe otherwise.

  2. Long-time Giants announcers, and former big-leaguers, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow compared Urais to Kershaw FOUR YEARS AGO!

    The shoulder injury cost him 1.5 years, but we are seeing what all the buzz was about while Urias was coming up through the system. Another important piece to Dodgers history and the Latino fans that are such a big part of Dodgers Nation.

    Maybe someday, we’ll see a dual statue of Fernando and Urias in a generational pose at Dodger Stadium….

  3. Urias is and has been incredible, “Thank You Ned Coletti” for signing all of these incredible players on this roster ………. Urias has been a BLUE COLLAR worker on the mound working his tail off and never needing any tissues or counseling…..Just a great Dodger!!

  4. Seager was the MVP of the post season last year. But Urias was a close second in my book for coming through in pressure situations. He earned the starting rotation spot and has never looked back. Even though he has never thrown this many pitches in a season, he seems to be getting stronger. He is now a fixture in the rotation for years to come. Sherzer, Buehler, and Urias are all in the very top echelon of pitchers. And they all perform best under pressure. This is another reason we don’t want a wild card game. Anything can happen in one game. But If we can throw these three guys in a series, we are virtually unbeatable, even with meager offense.

    1. If we get Pollock back 3/4 of what he was before the injury, things will be good as long as Roberts keeps Lux and Beaty on the playoff roster. If Souza Mckinstry or Mckinlley are 1000 miles close to this team when he makes this Roster, I believe the Ghost of Bill Buckner will haunt Roberts for eternity…….

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