Dodgers: Five ways to instantly improve the team

Julio Urias Needs to be in LA

As much noise as has been made about Bellinger’s future, Julio Urias is also facing a bit of uncertainty for the rest of 2017. Despite two excellent efforts in his first two starts this year, it seems as if as soon as one of the hurt Dodgers’ starters returns, he will be relegated.

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Now, certain limitations need to be taken for his age, like the pitch counts and innings limitations, but he isn’t made of glass. On top of that, he is continuously proving to be ready to handle major league hitters. Some would say that control with all pitches was an issue in his last start, where he walked four and only struck out one. But five innings of no run baseball is great anyway it comes, and even more, can be said about Urias pitching that well without his best stuff.

If there isn’t a spot in the regular rotation open for him, I think the solution has to be either going to a six-man rotation or moving 20-year-old to the bullpen. Moving to the six-man rotation would not only keep him there, but it could lessen the workload for all the starters while giving the team some flexibility for the way they match up against opponents.

If that isn’t an option because of the clustered roster, a spot in the bullpen will eventually open up and why not fill him in as a sort of jack of all trades. If his innings are being limited, why does it matter how he gets to that total? To add to that, allowing him to experience high-pressure situations late in games is a great lesson and will help him down the line when he gets late in games.

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As a lefty on lefty guy, there is no reason he can’t be dominant either, especially with the velocity boost he will get from only needing to throw for an inning. Carlos Martinez of the Cardinals started his big league career in the pen when he was 21 and has parlayed that into a solid career so far. I don’t see why Julio Urias can’t do that plus much, much more