Welcome to the Blue, Julio Urias! A Boatload of Fantasy Cards

As you no doubt know by now Julio Urias is coming to "The Show" tomorrow.  On the mound he'll be sporting Los Angeles Dodger Blue in that evenings game against the New York Mets, and I think every Dodger fan in the world will be glued to their television set to witness it.  It's the kind of event that will be remembered and spoken about by fans for years to come.  Hopefully, he can rise to the occasion and not get bogged down by unrealistic expectations.

Not that you shouldn't expect the world from him.

Urias has been spectacular since he turned pro just three years ago (at the age of 16).  In fact, today marks the third anniversary of his first professional game. Here's a quote by Urias after that game with the Loons, per Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider:

“With the first couple guys, I was feeling kind of nervous. After that, I was really happy because I was making my debut and things ended up going well for me,” Urias said after the game. “I just wanted to do what (Loons pitching coach Bill Simas) told me. I just wanted to throw strikes and keep the ball down. If you do that, you can pitch in any league.”

On his recent play in the PCL for the Oklahoma City Dodgers Dave Cameron at FanGraphs makes note of how dominating he's been there:

Urias, though, is running a 1.10 ERA/2.89 FIP in his first 41 innings in the PCL (a notorious hitters league), and four of the five runs he’s allowed came in one appearance, back on April 16th. He allowed the fifth run in his next outing on April 22nd, a five inning affair where he gave up just two hits, walked one, and struck out eight. He’s pitched in five games since then, and posted the following line.

2016 Topps Pro Debut - All the Dodgers Insert Cards

Following up on pics of all the Dodgers base cards found in packs of Topps 2016 Pro Debut set, here is a look at the insert cards.  Unfortunately, there are no Dodgers autograph cards available in this set.

Pennant Patches

#PP-GH Grant Holmes                 #PP-JDL Jose De Leon

Blog Kiosk: 5/26/2016 - Dodgers Links - No All Star Game for Vin, Dodgers Sweep and Julio Urias

"If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!"

As a part of Adrian Gonzalez's bobblehead night Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuellarcame out to perform the national anthem before the game.  You can see them in the photo at the very top, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.  Their appearance was the start of an festive affair that included an outstanding performance by Scott Kazmir on the mound, an attempted inside-the-park home run by a Reds player that ended with a perfect relay to home to get him out (watch it here), and a welcome sweep at a time when the Dodgers sorely needed it.  The Dodgers are now two games above .500.

Following up on the sombrero theme, it has been announced that Dodgers left-handed prospect Julio Urias will be called up from Oklahoma City on Friday to pitch that evenings game in New York.  Oh Boy!  The 19-year old will be the youngest player in the league when he comes in.  He'll be taking over for Alex Wood in the rotation, who is currently experiencing arm soreness but is expected to pitch again on Monday.  I suspect this will only be a spot start for the kid.  Although I have my reservations about bringing the kid up this soon I certainly welcome the opportunity to see what he can do on the big league level. 

 Go here to check out more pics by Jon from yesterdays game.  Below are more links to check:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1971 Maury Wills records his 2,000th career hit against the Giants.  In 1996 former Dodger Mike Sharperson died in a car accident in Nevada at the age of 34.  He was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 1992.  Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider wrote a great story about him today.  Check it out here.  It is worth your time.