Toolshed Q&A: Dodgers' Knapp on Urias

Happy Julio Urias Day.

The Dodgers announced Thursday that MLB.com's No. 2 overall prospect would be called up to make his Major League debut Friday night against the Mets at Citi Field. There likely won't be a more highly anticipated debut this season as the 19-year-old left-hander becomes the youngest starting hurler at the time of his debut since Felix Hernandez in 2005.

Age aside, Urias has been extremely good in the early going. At the time of his promotion, Urias led the Pacific Coast League with a 1.10 ERA and was tops among all Triple-A hurlers with a 0.78 WHIP through 41 innings for Oklahoma City. He's struck out 44 batters and walked only eight and has not allowed a run over his last 27 innings.

The kid is ready.

What follows is an interview with Dodgers Minor League pitching coordinator Rick Knapp, whose first year in the organization coincided with Urias' first full season as a 16-year-old with Class A Great Lakes in 2013 and who has seen the Mexico native grow into one of the game's best young arms in the four seasons since.

MiLB.com: What stands out to you most about Urias?

Knapp: It's really more about what doesn't. At every turn, this guy is a surprise. There are plenty of old-school guys who are even in love with this guy. I was talking to [former Twins manager] Tom Kelly, who saw him in the Futures Game [in 2015], and he was telling me how much he thought Julio was a remarkable talent. I mean, you go back to when he was a 16-year-old in the Midwest League. People came up to us and said, 'What are you doing to this 16-year-old here?' The thing they missed was it wasn't the fact that he was young because he's not young, pitching-wise. He's got a smart brain and can adjust when he needs to and can keep improving. That's what has got him to this point. 

That's what's the most impressive thing about Julio. As good as the stuff is, as good as the pitches are, as good as the stuff is that he's doing on the field, he's more impressive as a human. He's a down-to-earth 19-year-old with close ties to his family. Even the guys in Low A who are the same age as him, he's still close with them, despite being where he is. You think back to having him at extended spring training at 16, and that was great and fun but he was pretty good before I ever laid eyes on him. He's a pretty special guy. Besides using words like prodigy or whatever, I don't know what else can be said that hasn't been said.

The stuff is plus. The makeup is plus. The ability to adjust is plus. Like I told someone else earlier, he's gone through the flight simulator. He's sat in the copilot's seat. He's done it all. Now, it's time to fly the plane.

MiLB.com: Given the way he's performed at Triple-A with 27 straight scoreless innings and a 1.10 ERA, is this the best you've ever seen from him in terms of results at any level?

Knapp: I mean, yeah [laughs]. Here's the deal. You want to put players in a position where they're not overmatched or challenged too much, but you also want to give them opportunities for success. With Julio, he's not going to be a finished product ever. He realizes that, and that's why he's able to adjust and make things better and put the right finishing touches on his game. [Oklahoma City pitching coach] Matt Herges has done a great job of being a finisher for guys there. Julio got his brains bashed in at Triple-A last year. Some guys don't recover from that. He did. He has the fortitude, the stick-to-itiveness to move on from that. He can maintain his delivery, his arm angle, his form, and that's the only way to have prolonged success. That's true not only in Triple-A but at any level and at the Major League level for sure. If he had one good start, that's great. But it's so much better to define success to put together two good starts, five straight good starts, and that's what he's done.

MiLB.com: Was there one outing or moment in particular that made you or the organization think, 'Yeah, he's ready' this season?

Knapp: As the pitching coordinator, you watch every start. Matt watches every start. I think the whole organization watches him every time he steps on a mound. But there are other factors other than just, 'Is he ready?' Are there able bodies already on the roster? There are other pitchers who have their turn, so maybe it's not his turn yet. [Dodgers president of baseball operations] Andrew Friedman has had a pretty good run of bringing up pitchers to the Major League level when they are ready. I'm sure he's done his due diligence, and hopefully, history continues in that way. Everyone puts their trust in him for a reason.

But to go back a bit, there's something to be said for the way Julio threw six no-hit innings against New Orleans and then backed that up and backed that up again. It's all about how many good, consistent starts a pitcher can string together. Can you right the ship before it gets too bad. He's proven a couple of times that if he didn't have his stuff or one pitch -- like if his changeup didn't show up until the sixth or something -- he can still pitch without his best stuff. One other big hurdle he had to overcome was controlling his emotions -- not getting too high, too low or too rattled. He's overcome that pretty certainly.

MiLB.com: Along those lines, what would you say are the biggest areas in which Urias has grown over the last season or so?

Knapp: Three things come to mind. One is his body. He's in much better shape. Last year at the end of the year, he came out of the eye surgery and couldn't do anything. You have eye surgery like that, and you can't do anything physically because you could do damage to it. But he spent the offseason getting in great condition, and he's in very good shape now.

Second, he's really controlled his delivery. He's not falling sideways anymore. Everything is much more straight. That's pretty important because it really goes into the ability to throw the ball down. He's got two pretty good breaking balls, but they're not going to get in the same spot all the time if the delivery isn't right. So that's something that's gotten much better.

And the last, like I said, was emotionally, keeping everything in check.

The rest are just peripheral things that we've pointed out. Maybe he's taking something off his pickoff move here and there. We don't want him giving away his changeup. That's all higher level. They were all finishing-school pieces at the end.

MiLB.com: What do you think a realistic Major League debut -- not necessarily an ideal one, but a realistic one -- looks like for Urias?

Knapp: Well, I know one thing. As sure as I'm sitting here, I know there's nothing this boy would do that would surprise me. Obviously, there's a pretty wide swath to cover there. I think if he doesn't perform well, everybody can say, 'Ah, well, he's only 19.' But his expectations are way above that. This guy could throw five scoreless, six scoreless, and it wouldn't surprise me. Of course, the Mets will have a scouting report on him because he played Las Vegas. They'll have a pretty good idea of who he is and what he is. That's one thing that's changed about the game. Major League clubs get better looks at Minor League players than they used to, so they'll have some sort of report against him. But I don't think he's going to be overtaken in the moment as big as it is.

MiLB.com: One of the questions with Urias has been around his innings limit, given he hasn't thrown more than 87 2/3 innings in a season. Does a Major League promotion change anything in that regard?

Knapp: Just like anything else, there's nothing set in stone. When he hits the limit -- whatever that limit is going to be -- there are several factors that go into that number, and it's being constantly reassessed. We're not going to put him in harm's way in any stretch. Whether it's using a hard pitch count or whatever, we're not going to do anything foolish, and we're not going to ask him to do anything he hasn't already done. I'm not necessarily in control of any of that. There was the Minor League perception of how to use him, but they're going to be constantly going over what's best for him and basing their plans off that.

MiLB.com: Back in 2009, you were the Tigers pitching coach when Detroit called up Rick Porcello as a 20-year-old. Obviously there's a one-year difference here, but are there any similarities between those two cases?

Knapp: That's a whole different situation. I hate to compare guys, and Rick and Julio have two completely different personas. The stuff, body sizes, hands they throw with, it's all different. But a lot of the same things apply. No question, Rick was an incredible talent. He had an elite sinker when he came up, and he brought with him a good slider and changeup, too. He had four pitches, and in that way, he's kind of similar to Julio. You're comparing guys that were very good. I consider myself very blessed to have that experience to see those two come up. But the only major things I would say that's similar between them is that both were ready. Rick was ready to pitch to Major Leaguers when he came up, and I firmly believe Julio is, too.

MiLB.com: Given how young Urias is and the excitement his youth and talent bring, you see his name bandied about with guys like Felix Hernandez and fellow Mexico native Fernando Valenzuela. Is that fair?

Knapp: It's hard to compare, but certainly, there are similarities. I was extremely blessed, probably more with timing than anything else, that I saw Johan Santana [as Twins Minor League pitching coordinator], Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer all come up. They're all different in their own way. This guy, since he's signed, he's been compared to Valenzuela. That's difficult to live up to with everyone saying, 'You're the best player from our country since the best player from our country left.' That's like saying, 'This guy is Babe Ruth' or whoever. I don't know if any of those are fair. But I understand people are going to compare them. 

It's just a different era. The game's different. I don't know that there will be a Julio-mania in the same way, but maybe there will be if he gets a decent enough start. With his calm and down-to-earth demeanor, he'll handle it. All the attention is not a big deal for him. There's all this stuff that he's overcome. Two years ago he was pitching in Rancho Cucamonga, and he had to become a little self-conscious. He couldn't throw a bullpen or do a charting in the stands like the regular pitchers without people swarming around him in the middle of the game trying to get a picture. But he handled that with style. I admire what he's been able to endure, and I'm happy he's getting the opportunity.