Dodgers Pitching Coach Breaks Down Julio Urias's Struggles
The season has been a rollercoaster for Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias and this week was another low point for him as he was touched up for 6 runs in 3 innings, 4 on home runs. This marks his third start of the season where he allowed 5 or more earned runs and has the team and the pitcher looking for answers.
The truth is, Julio hasn't been performing well... and it's not because he's tipping pitches.
"I think it's been bad pitches," commented LA manager Dave Roberts. "If you look at those pitches, they were non-competitive and right in the middle of the plate. The balls they hit out were center cut."
Urias admitted on Thursday that he has to "do a better job" and pitching coach Mark Prior shared with the OC Register on Friday that the pitcher's game plan may have become a bit too predictable.
Better execution of his pitches is the primary part of that, Prior acknowledged. But Urias might also need to make some changes in his pitch sequencing as opposing teams’ “gameplan against him has shifted over the last couple years.”
“I think guys have gotten used to how he pitches a little bit. So it’s our responsibility to adapt to that and try to change that,” Prior said. “Getting away from maybe some tendencies that he’s got into. Obviously, he leans heavily on some of his off-speed stuff. I don’t think that changes. I think the buckets and usages are all the same but maybe switching it up in how we go about attacking in different situations over the course of the game.”
Some might argue that Julio has been predictable for a few years now. What's making it tough for him this year is that his command has slipped -- Roberts and Prior mentioned -- and that's taken him from a dominating lefty from someone the league has teed off on an MLB-high 14 times.
Whether the team looks to adjust the game plan for Urias before his next start in Atlanta remains to be seen. But what really needs to happen is the left-hander needs to be better at working on the edges.
