Dodgers 20-year-old phenom left-hander Julio Urias made what will most likely be his final start of spring training on Tuesday afternoon in a split-squad game at Camelback Ranch. And although the Dodgers had hoped to get three innings out of the young Culiacan, Mexico native, the best he could give them was 2.2 innings in the eventual 3-1 win over the division-rival San Diego Padres.

It’s not that Urias was ineffective, quite the contrary, in fact. It’s that he made quite a few pitches to the 11 total batters he faced – many of which were pop-fouls – forcing substitute manager (and regular Dodgers bench coach) Bob Geren to pull the young lefty before he could get the final out of the third inning. (Note: MLB Gameday did not keep track of Urias’ pitches, but in my best estimate, he made somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 pitches, with the majority of them being strikes).

Although he made quite a few pitches in his 2.2 innings of work on Tuesday afternoon, 20-year-old left-hander Julio Urias was very efficient. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Urias’ final line (less the pitch count) was: 2.2 IP / 2 H / 0 R / 1 BB / 1 K. And although there were two outs with runners at the corners when he left the game, right-handed reliever Chris Hatcher managed to get Padres second baseman Yangervis Solarte to fly out to right to end the threat and keep Urias’ abbreviated shutout intact.

It’s no secret that the Dodgers have and will undoubtedly continue to be cautious with their prize left-hander. In fact, shortly after pitchers and catchers reported for spring training back on February 15, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that Urias would, in all likelihood, remain at extended spring training in Arizona when camp would break six weeks later. Roberts reiterate this on Tuesday when he told reporters that although they would allow their young star to travel to Los Angeles for the annual exhibition Freeway Series against the Angels, he would not see action (other than scheduled bullpen sessions) and would return to Camelback Ranch following the series and before Opening Day.

“We’ve had internal discussions on his program going forward. It’s to continue where he’s at, as opposed to completely shutting him down,” Roberts said. “We have a lot of people who have studied the biomechanics of pitching and the arm. With the medical staff, we feel that’s what is the best thing for Julio.”

The Dodgers are faced with a very difficult decision as to who their back-up catcher is going to be. Soon-to-be 34-year-old veteran catcher Bobby Wilson slugged his fourth home run of the spring on Tuesday to lead the Dodgers to a 3-1 win over the Padres. His competition, 27-year-old Austin Barnes, hit two home runs this spring. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

All of this said, there is zero doubt that Urias will again pitch under the lights at Dodger Stadium at some point this season, and probably sooner rather than later. And while the Dodgers will break camp after Wednesday’s spring training finale against the Seattle Mariners at Peoria Stadium, they will do so with a deep and, more importantly, healthy pitching staff that will allow them to continue to protect their young gold nugget.