Los Angeles Dodgers ace Julio Urias has been a part of the LA organization for years, 11 years to be exact. The 26-year-old is now in his eighth season in Dodger blue and has solidified himself as one of baseball's top starting pitchers.
And as someone who is on the top of the rotation, you must tweak and change some stuff over starts and seasons. That is the case with the lefty ace, as he brought back a pitch that was once in his arsenal.
Dodgers insider from The Athletic Fabian Ardaya said that El Culichi returned to an old pitch that he hasn't used in three seasons.
"But Urías wanted to search for something different, particularly against right-handed hitters. Which brought him back to the harder slider (or cutter, or slider-cutter hybrid, whatever you want to call it). It’s a pitch, Urías said, that allows him "to open up" the outside part of the plate and allow his fastball and changeup to then play off of it."
According to Ardaya, Juilo adopted that hard slider into a slurve, allowing him to develop into a legit pitcher in the league. So far, that hard slider is working for Julio as he is 2-0 through two starts and has a 1.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 12 innings.
The ace of the Dodgers is just entering the prime of his career and has already had two dominant seasons in a row. With a new, old pitch that he decided to bring out in 2023, who will be able to stop El Culichi from another Cy Young-type season?
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