Closing Time: Julio Urias drops Friday
The Matt Harvey show has been a Broadway flop this year. Maybe a Julio Urias showing in New York will fare better.
Just know up front — this show could be one night, only.
Yep, the Dodgers are making the call for their left-handed, teenaged wunderkind prospect. Alex Wood is dealing with triceps tendinitis, so Urias, 19, is penciled into the Friday slot against the Mets. It’s a shame it’s a road game — you’d want the Vin Scully backdrop for this. (But it is the Yahoo free game of the day, so stream all you like, streamers.)
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Fantasy owners will probably want to stream this one, too. Urias opened the year as MLB.com’s No. 2 prospect, and he’s been toying with the competition at Triple-A (41 IP, 1.10 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 44 K, 8 BB). He’s a fun watch, a three-pitch pitcher (fastball, curve, change) and a master of changing speeds and angles.
Earlier this year, there was talk of Urias joining the Dodgers but as a reliever. That might become the plan later this season. The club certainly wants to be careful with their kid prospect. Urias made just 18 starts last year, totaling 80.1 innings. He got to 87.2 innings the year before. He's the youngest debut pitcher since Felix Hernandez in 2005.
There are no guarantees with prospect grabbing, of course. For every Noah Syndergaard who exploded last year, we can show you a Jose Berrios, who’s struggled this year. The stage does different things to pitchers, and there are so many minuscule things that go into the success or failure of any one start.
Nonetheless, there’s pedigree here, there’s talent here, and the Mets are no worrisome matchup (they’re 11th in the National League in runs). If you feel like jumping on board, Urias is still unowned in 65 percent of Yahoo leagues.
-- If 19 isn’t your number, maybe 13 will be. Alex Rodriguez homered in a rehab start Wednesday, a fun day at the park if you like bat flips and bat dogs. He's going to be activated Thursday.
Rodriguez was off to a dreadful start to this season, but he did hit three home runs right before his DL stint and he was the No. 71 overall player in Yahoo’s game last season. He’s surprisingly 61-percent available at the moment, even with the (now expiring) DL tag. I don't think the tank is empty.
-- The Blue Jays offense hasn’t been as fun as expected this year, but maybe the return of Devon Travis will spark the club. Travis, you’ll recall, was useful when healthy last year (.304/.361/.498), showing some pop as well (eight homers). He only stole three bases, but he was a running threat in the minors, too.
He’s into his age-25 season, coming back slowly from a shoulder injury. He went 1-for-4 in his recall debut Wednesday. The Jays are keeping Travis tucked in the bottom of the order for now, but John Gibbons is open-minded to a quick promotion if Travis gets something going. You can add Travis in 42 percent of Yahoo leagues.
-- Wednesday was a fun day for Leonys Martin, here on the Arcade. We argued about his power development and going-forward value, then we watched him steal another base in the Wednesday win over Oakland. Alas, Martin also tweaked his hamstring, and might miss a couple of games. Perhaps it’s a respite for anyone slow to the draw; he’s still free in 65 percent of Yahoo leagues. The approach is new and it sure looks legitimate, amigos. I’m invested, I hope you will be, too.
-- Sticking with the rehab theme of today’s secondary bullets, let’s share a word about Logan Forsythe, Tampa Bay’s underrated infielder. He’s aiming for a return in the middle of June, and he’s already started to take infield practice.
You might recall I tend to hold low expectations on most long-term injury recoveries, but Forsythe might get out of this with less than a month on the sidelines. I’m surprised he’s chased down to 55 percent in Yahoo leagues; get good use out of your DL tags. I added him in one deeper league last week; surprised he was available.
