Infographic: Julio Urias fantasy baseball waiver wire popularity
Joining a fraternity that includes the likes of Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Felix Hernandez, and fellow Dodger, Karim Garcia, 19-year-old Julio Urias - the organization's top prospect - will make his MLB debut tonight.
For context, Urias was born in 1996 - a strong year for top hits on the radio. If he was born in May/June, Bone Thugs n' Harmony dropped "Tha Crossroads," in late-June 2-Pac's "How Do You Want It?" was quite popular in high school hallways, and November welcomed BLACKstreet's "No Diggity" anthem. However, Urias was born in August, the beginning of Los Del Rio's three month reign of terror. With the internet still in its infancy, you still couldn't escape the "Macarena." Could you imagine if the virality of that song enjoyed a social media bump?
So, yeah, Urias is young. He's also dominated every level of the minors since joining the Dodgers' organization at 16 years old. In seven PCL starts - a hitter-friendly league - Urias is 4-1 with a 9.66 K/9 and 1.99 ERA. Because he's only 19 years old, popular opinion remains that this spot start may be one of only a handful in 2016, but he'll probably work out of the bullpen to keep innings down. From a fantasy baseball perspective, it's fun to shred the wrapping on a shiny new toy like Urias, pick him up waivers and stream him into your lineup. Just don't get too crazy and based on the following infographic, the ownership percentages are under control - which is good - but for the opportunity to stream him in his debut, I would think the percentages would be a little higher. (Story continues below the mobile ad)