Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Julio César Urías Acosta was born on August 12, 1996, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México. He is a pitcher in the MLB.

The Dodgers signed him in 2012, and he made his MLB debut in 2016. Urías is the son of Carlos Urías, who played one year of professional baseball as a catcher in Mexico. He played with the Mexico national team as a youth, joining them on road trips since the age of 10. At age 14, Urías met Los Angeles Dodgers scout Mike Brito, who had first scouted Fernando Valenzuela. In June 2012, the Dodgers discovered 15-year-old Urías at a showcase in Oaxaca, on the same scouting trip in Mexico on which they signed Yasiel Puig. The Dodgers signed him on August 12, his 16th birthday. 

Urías made his professional debut on May 25, 2013, for the Great Lakes Loons in the Midwest League as the youngest player in the league, striking out six batters over three shutout innings. He made a total of 18 starts and finished the season 2–0 with a 2.48 ERA, recording 67 strikeouts in 54.1 innings. He spent 2014 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League. In 25 appearances, he was 2–2 with a 2.36 ERA. He struck out 109 batters while walking only 37. Urías was honored as the 2014 Dodgers' Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year, after going 2-2 with a 2.36 ERA in 25 games. He struck out 109 batters against 37 walks in 87.2 innings. He also held hitters to a .194 average, including a .175 mark against lefties and posted a 1.11 WHIP. Urías limited batters to a .171 average with runners on base and a .164 average with RISP. He finished the season strong, going 1-1 with a 1.20 ERA in 12 games and held opponents to a .162 average. He struck out 62 against just 19 walks in 45.0 innings. Urías was honored as MiLB.com's organizational All-Star and was also selected to the World Team for the 2014 XM All-Star Futures Game, becoming the youngest-ever player to participate in the contest at the age of 17.

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he became a full-time starter for the Dodgers and went 3–0 with a 3.27 ERA in 11 games. Urías picked up the win in the Dodgers' first playoff game of the season, the opener of the Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, pitching three scoreless innings (with five strikeouts) in relief of Walker Buehler. In the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, he appeared in Game 3, working five innings, including one unearned run, to pick up the series-clinching win. In the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves he was the winning pitcher in the two games in which he appeared. Urías started Game 3 and allowed one run on three hits in five innings and then pitched the final three innings of the series-deciding Game 7, allowing no runners to reach base. Urías then started Game 4 of the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits while striking out nine. In Game 6, Urìas entered in the 7th inning and pitched 2+1⁄3 scoreless innings to record the save and was on the mound when the Dodgers clinched their championship.

Urías agreed with the Dodgers on a one-year, $3.6 million, contract for 2021, avoiding arbitration. Starting more than 20 games in a season for the first time in his career, Urías has enjoyed one of his best statistical years to date. He ended his 2021 campaign starting in 32 games, pitching 185+2⁄3 innings with 195 strikeouts, a 2.96 ERA, and a 20–3 record, the best in the league. He became the first pitcher in the National League since Max Scherzer in 2016 to collect 20 wins in a season, which was the most in the majors in 2021.

Urías signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Dodgers for 2022, in his second season of salary arbitration.

Continuing on his excellent form from the previous season, Urías kept his place on the Dodgers starting rotation. Despite owning a 3–4 record at the end of May after 10 starts, he compiled a solid 2.89 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and only 12 walks in that span. He went 3-1 in 5 June starts, achieveing a 2.20 ERA for the month, and lowering his overall ERA down to 2.64. He tossed a combined 12 innings in which he only allowed one earned run and two in total, in two victories against the Cleveland Guardians and the Atlanta Braves. Despite his solid numbers, Urías was not elected to the All-Star Game. Following the All-Star break, he went 4-0 in five starts in July, achieving a 2.71 ERA for the month.

To start August, he pitched a combined 18 innings in three wins against the Giants, Twins, and Brewers, in which he only allowed a single run: a Gilberto Celestino single that brought in Gio Urshela against Minnesota on August 9. He ultimately went 4–1 in the month, with a superb 0.90 ERA to go with 34 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched.

For the season, Urías finished 17–7 with 166 strikeouts and led the National League in ERA with 2.16.

In October 2022, it was announced that Urias intended to represent Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Urías signed a one-year, $14.25 million contract with the Dodgers for 2023, in his final season of salary arbitration.