Los Angeles Dodgers’ Julio Urias Among Four Players To Watch In NLDS

It’s on to Round 2 of Major League Baseball’s four-tiered postseason.

The Division Series round begins Tuesday with four best-of-five series. That comes on the heels of last weekend’s Wild Card round.

It will be the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres squaring off and the Atlanta Braves facing the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League. In the American League, it will be the Houston Astros against the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees versus the Cleveland Guardians.

Here is a look at one key player from each team involved in the NLDS.

JULIO URIAS, DODGERS

The left-hander gets the start in Game 1 against the Padres. That is all you need to know about how much the Dodgers value the bespectacled 26-year-old.

Urias was 17-7 in the regular season with a 2.16 ERA in 31 starts. He led the NL in ERA and was second in wins behind the Braves’ Kyle Wright, who had 21. Urias also had a sparkling 0.960 WHIP while striking out 175 batters in 166 innings.

Despite his age, Urias also has plenty of postseason experience with five career starts and 17 relief appearances. He has a solid 3.52 ERA and 0.988 WHIP over 53 2/3 innings.

Urias can become a free agent at the end of next season. It seems likely the Dodgers will try to sign him to a long-term contract extension this coming winter.

YU DARVISH, PADRES

Darvish will likely make only one start against the Dodgers after winning Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the New York Mets. He is scheduled to pitch Game 2 against Clayton Kershaw and it will be a chance for redemption for the veteran right-hander.

In 2017, Darvish started Game 7 of the World Series and got hit hard by the Houston Astros. He was tagged for five runs in 1 2/3 innings and took the loss.

The Padres will look for Darvish to pitch like he did against the Mets when he allowed only one run on six hits in seven innings. That followed a regular season in which he was 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA in 30 starts.

Darvish’s six-year, $126-million contract he signed with the Chicago Cubs expires after next season. He will be 37 then but could still land a significant contract.

DANSBY SWANSON, BRAVES

The shortstop is eligible to file for free agency five days after the World Series. However, the Braves have been very public about their desire to sign Swanson to a long-term extension.

The 28-year-old had arguably the best of his seven seasons in the major league this year. He played in all 162 games and hit .277/.329/.447 with 25 home runs and 18 stolen bases. Swanson was also a plus defender with nine defensive runs saved.

The one knock on Swanson, though, is he did have a swoon after the All-Star break. He hit .294/.353/.481 in the first half but .254/.298/.404 in the second half.

Regardless, he will command a large contract if he reaches the open market.

ZACK WHEELER, PHILLIES

The Phillies raised some eyebrows when they signed the right-hander to a five-year, $118-million contract as a free agent during the 2019-20 offseason. Wheeler’s lifetime record at that point was 44-38.

However, the Phillies clearly knew what they were doing. After finishing second in the NL Cy Young Award voting last season, Wheeler went 12-7 with a 2.82 ERA in 26 starts this year despite being slowed by forearm tendinitis.

Wheeler worked 6 1/3 shutout innings and allowed just two hits against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card series. The 32-year-old from the Atlanta area is 10-7 in his career against the Braves with a 3.16 ERA in 24 starts.