Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitcher Julio Urias has had a most unusual development arc. The 20-year-old has had his workload curbed by the Dodgers throughout his professional career, all with the hope that he'd be able to avoid the injuries that are so common in young pitchers. It looks like all that careful planning went for naught.
That's because Urias will undergo shoulder surgery next week to repair his left anterior capsule. He'll miss at least the rest of the 2017 season, and perhaps most of 2018:
Julio Urias will have left anterior capsule surgery next week. That is a major operation.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) June 23, 2017
Prognosis is 12 months. Friedman confident Urias will pitch for #Dodgers at some point in 2018
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 23, 2017
You can read more about anterior capsule surgery in this article written by Stuart Wallace, who now works for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In recent years, both Johan Santana and Chris Young have undergone the operation. Santana never really recovered, and later had to undergo the surgery for a second time, while Young has since put forth a few solid, if unspectacular seasons. Basically, this is not a run-of-the-mill surgery -- even if Andrew Friedman seemingly tried to downplay the severity:
"It's an acute injury that happened on a pitch," Andrew Friedman said of Julio Urias' injury. Friedman downplayed the seriousness.
— Matthew Moreno (@MMoreno1015) June 23, 2017
Urias made five starts this season, racking up a 5.40 ERA and walking more batters than he struck out. For his career, he's managed a 3.86 ERA in 23 big-league appearances.
