Dodgers: Assessing the Team’s Left-Handed Pitching Depth

I understand how this slide makes people feel. It’s a mixed bag of emotions.

On one hand, there exists a feeling of excitement that Julio Urias will make the roster at all. For a while, there was an actual conversation as to whether or not the young southpaw would start the season with the Dodgers or in Triple-A.

But, after an awe-inspiring spring training to this point, there is almost no doubt in anyone’s mind that the 22-year-old will make the roster.

Urias has pitched magnificently this spring.

In nine innings pitched, Urias has allowed just two base hits, good for a batting average against of just .074 with nine strikeouts to go alongside it.

But, Urias’s spring success has more than likely landed him a spot in the bullpen, not the starting rotation. Hence the disappointing part of the Urias situation.

The Dodgers appear to be set to limit Urias’s innings this year with the young and still developing pitcher only a year removed from serious shoulder surgery.

The move is in place to protect an arm that projects to be right at the top of the rotation with Walker Buehler but that is obviously heavily dependant on whether or not Urias can stay healthy. The Dodgers will do their part in making that happen.

Urias will be limited to 70-100 innings in 2019 making him the primary piece in the bullpen lefty depth department. Urias should be able to pitch multiple innings with the occasional spot start. It may even be safe to say that Urias has surpassed Cingrani all together on the depth chart.