NEW YORK -- This was not the debut the Dodgers and Julio Urias imagined. Urias, who is arguably the best prospect in all of baseball, did not make it out of the third inning in his first big league start Friday night. He allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Mets at Citi Field (NYM 6, LAD 5).
We saw flashes of what makes Urias such a highly touted prospect Friday. His fastball averaged 94.5 mph and his breaking ball elicited some empty swings, so the raw stuff was there. That said, like many young pitchers, he leaned on his fastball when he got into trouble. PitchFX says 57 of his 81 pitches were fastballs.
"I have to talk to my pitching coach and my catcher," said Urias after the game through a translator when asked about all those fastballs. "It was my first time out and I know that they wanted the best for me, so I followed their advice. If (throwing more secondary pitches) is a change that they want me to make in the future, we will work towards that."
The raw stuff was impressive, though at times Urias looked very much like a 19-year-old kid making his MLB debut as well. He struggled to locate consistently and was up in the zone an awful lot, indicating he was overthrowing.
"Early on, I think he was just kind of pumped up," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after the game.
Mets manager Terry Collins said "nobody gets called to the big leagues at 19 unless you're really, really good" prior to Friday's game, and he's right. Urias is only the second pitcher to start a game at age 19 this century, joining Felix Hernandez. Heck, he's only the fifth teenager to start a game over the last 32 years. Check out the list and their pitching lines:
| Date | Opp. | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | |
| Dwight Gooden, Mets | 4/7/84 | @ HOU | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Wilson Alvarez, Rangers | 7/24/89 | vs. TOR | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Todd Van Poppel, Athletics | 9/11/91 | vs. CWS | 4 2/3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Felix Hernandez, Mariners | 8/4/05 | @ DET | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Julio Urias, Dodgers | 5/27/16 | @ NYM | 2 2/3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
Only Alvarez fared worse in his debut than Urias among those five teenagers. Felix's line looks pretty good, right? Well, the first four hitters he faced in the big leagues went single, walk, walk, single. That's a rude introduction to MLB.
Those first-start jitters can be tough control, especially these days in the world of social media and super-detailed scouting reports. These days people follow prospects from the moment they sign right up until they reach MLB. Everyone is watching, even the opponents.
"I was (nervous). I'm not going to lie," said Urias. "When I went out there, I started thinking of everything I had to go to through to get here. But when I was on the mound, I was able to settle down and feel a little more comfortable. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get the results we wanted."
Gooden, Alvarez, Van Poppel, and Hernandez all reached the big leagues at 19 because they were special prospects, and, sure enough, they all went on to have long big-league careers. Van Poppel played 11 seasons in The Show, Alvarez played 14, and Gooden played 16. Felix is at 12 and counting.
That first start isn't always easy. You've got start somewhere though.
Urias is an extremely talented pitcher and hey, they can't all be Dave McNally, who chucked a shutout in his big-league debut as a 19-year-old back in 1962. The Dodgers have a special talent, and Friday's start was only the first of Urias' career. The first of many.
"I think there's a reason the team called me up," said Urias when asked if he felt he's ready for the big leagues. "Baseball isn't easy. I'm going to continue to work so next time we can get those results."
The only thing standing between Urias and stardom at this point is experience, and now he's in the process of gaining that.
"I thank God for the opportunity that he gave me," he said. "I will never forget the first strikeout, especially it being a batter like Granderson. I will never forget everything that happened in this game because this is the happiest day of my life."
