Dodgers are cautiously optimistic for Julio Urias’ debut

9:40 PM ET

One thing that Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman knows for certain is that Friday’s debut of 19-year-old top pitching prospect Julio Urias will be a “great organizational moment.”

Lesser known is how Urias will fare in his outing against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

The Dodgers will purchase Urias’ contract, and he’ll pitch in the spot that had been occupied by Alex Wood. The left-handed Wood is dealing with triceps soreness and will be pushed back to Monday’s series opener at Chicago against the Cubs.

“[Urias] is a Dodgers signee, developed through our system, and will debut in a Dodgers uniform, and I think that is a really special thing for a lot of different departments and people that are involved,” Friedman said Thursday. “That makes it a fun thing for everybody.”

Julio Urias “is a Dodgers signee, developed through our system, and will debut in a Dodgers uniform,” team executive Andrew Friedman said, “and I think that is a really special thing.” Christian Petersen/Getty Images

With shortstop Corey Seager starting the season on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, Urias moved to the top spot among all Dodgers prospects at the start of the season. ESPN’s Keith Law even had the Mexico native as the top minor league prospect in all of baseball.

Urias was signed as an undrafted free agent in August 2012 and has …

continue reading in source espn.go.com