After allowing six runs (three earned) in his 2022 debut against the Colorado Rockies, Julio Urías has rebounded in the past three starts to pitch like the Los Angeles Dodgers expect of him.
Urías has allowed just two earned runs in his last 16 innings pitched over that span, and his fastball velocity has ticked back close to his career average of 94 mph after hovering around 91 mph to begin the regular season.
However, it isn’t all great for Urías as he is still walking people at a career-high rate. With eight walks in his 18 innings this year, he has a walks per nine of four, which is a sizable jump from his career 2.76 per nine.
Urías lowered it from 4.50 in his last outing against the Diamondbacks with two in his six innings of work, but that is still two many for his liking and was more of a concern than allowing a solo home run, via SportsNet LA:
“The frustration obviously comes from the walks. It’s tough to put people on base. Obviously these guys are professional hitters, so the home run isn’t that upsetting because these guys are going to get their hacks. I felt like they only made good contact on two different pitches, but everything felt good, everything felt fine. All my pitches were working.”
Command has been a concern for Urías, who said it was a bigger issue than his decline in velocity at the start of the season.
It’s possible he just needs more time to work through his issues after the shortened Spring Training due to the MLB lockout. However, it could also be related to the inconsistent baseballs that some question are being used by MLB.
Still, he has remained effective despite the issues, posting a 2.50 ERA in four games with 15 strikeouts.
Urías avoided arbitration
The Dodgers had several players eligible for salary arbitration heading into the 2022 season, including Urías, who was among those to sign a one-year contract to avoid going to a hearing process.
Urías’ deal reportedly is worth an $8 million salary that fell shy of the MLB Trade Rumors projection but still represented an increase over last season.
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