Dodgers News: White Believes Urias Could Pitch In Majors At Age Of 18
Playing at different levels of the Dodgers’ farm system is elite talent that the team is high on and reportedly reluctant to trade away. The youngest of the talented prospects is 17-year-old Julio Urias.
Urias was with the Dodgers’ Great Lakes affiliate in 2013 and this season is pitching for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Urias was spotted by the Dodgers scout team on the same 2012 trip they went to observe Yasiel Puig.
The left-hander signed with the Dodgers in August of 2012 and now 17, he’s one of their more promising prospects. Urias has pitched 52.1 innings in 17 appearances for the Quakes and his stuff has White convinced he’ll soon be ready for the big leagues, via Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports:
This guy’s got the ability to pitch in the big leagues at 18″
Urias joined Corey Seager in the Futures Game and picked up one strikeout in a scoreless inning of relief as the youngest player to ever play in the game. Seager, who recently received an overdue promotion to Double-A, lauded Urias for his composure:
“It’s hard to explain how a kid who’s 17 does everything he does,” said Dodgers prospect Corey Seager, Urias’ teammate each of the last two seasons. “He’s unbelievably composed. His maturity is through the roof. He’s just very impressive. There’s nothing that frightens him. He doesn’t overreact when he gets a bad call. He doesn’t throw his glove. Nothing like that ever comes out of him.”
While Seager and White both have marveled at Urias’ talent, the Dodgers are easing their pitching prospect in, which Urias says he understands
They’re trying to take it slow,” Urias said. “They know what they’re doing. Those are the rules. I’m sticking with it.”
Given the Dodgers’ cautious handling of Urias it’s unlikely he’ll step foot on a Major League mound anytime soon. However, if they remain steadfast in their opposition to trading him away, the wait will likely pay off.
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He was spotted with Puig? Can we assume he’s Cuban? Has he played ball at the high school level here? If so, where? This piece is a little light on info….
He was spotted on the same trip (at a different location in Mexico) not with Puig.
Urias is Mexican. He was playing in the Mexican League before signing with the Dodgers. Upon joining the organization, he began playing in their farm system.