Julio Urias 2022 Player Outlook: Fantasy Managers Reaching After 20 Win Season
3 years agoLos Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias put together his best season to date, with a 2.96 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 26.2 K% over 185.2 IP leading to an MLB-leading 20 victories. His 3.13 FIP and 2.85 xERA backs up his run prevention, thanks to an 86 MPH average exit velocity. The left-hander's home run suppression continued to impress, keeping it under 1.00 HR/9 for the sixth consecutive year after placing in the 88th percentile for Barrel%. His best offering is his high-spinning curveball that has 7.9 more inches of horizontal movement than the average breaking ball, and batters only managed a .206 xwOBA against it. Urias also employs a changeup that got batters to chase 43.4% of the time and owned a .226 xwOBA. It'll be hard for him to improve his K-rate, given his low 24.1 Whiff% from 2021 and the fact that he's never shown great strikeout numbers. The Dodgers will be good once again, but he's not going to win 20 games. And his ability to produce weak contact will help the 25-year-old sustain a low ERA and WHIP, however not low enough to offset the strikeouts. Additionally, there are always volume concerns for any pitcher in Los Angeles, particularly one with his injury history. Urias' ADP of 29 is a reach, especially with several solid arms behind him.