Dodgers: 3 LAD players who’ve earned first All-Star nods

1. Julio Urias

Thank goodness development isn’t linear, right? Phew.

If development were linear, Julio Urias would’ve probably had trouble recovering from the difficult five starts he made in 2017 as a 20-year-old greenhorn with all the expectations in the world thrust upon him.

If development were linear, Urias might’ve been discouraged after his follow-up attempt didn’t come until the 2018 postseason following shoulder surgery that could’ve stolen his trademark arsenal from him.

That wasn’t the case, though. Urias worked. He battled. He was willing to take the ball out of the bullpen to end the 2020 season, and his dominance resulted in his participation in the most indelible image of the past three decades of Dodgers baseball: the final out of a drought-breaking title.

Dodgers starter Julio Urias deserves an All-Star appearance.

Despite proving he could do something other than start at an elite level, Los Angeles’ front office didn’t succumb to temptation, allowing Urias to win back his No. 4 starter spot on his merits entering 2021. So far, so great.

7-1, 3.03 ERA, and the NL’s leading strikeout-to-walk ratio highlight Urias’ case to make the summer stage alongside, perhaps, three other teammates from the sterling rotation. Often, when the team has most needed a stopper, the ball has somehow fallen to its youngest member, and he has delivered time and again. That deserves to be rewarded.

Pretty solid arc.

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