The Los Angeles Dodgers dished out 16 non-roster invitations for their MLB camp at spring training. Two of those invitations went to top prospects Julio Urias and Jose De Leon - both of whom could make an impact at the MLB level relatively soon.
According to Baseball America, Urias is the organization's No. 2 overall prospect and De Leon is No. 3. They both figure to jump up a spot once Corey Seager exceeds his rookie limits in 2016, making them the top two prospects in the Dodgers' farm system.
Urias, a left-hander, and De Leon, a right-hander, figured to make up the future of the Dodgers' starting rotation. Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times says both "could get a call-up later in the season," likely when rosters expand because the Dodgers have a surplus of pitching at this point after signing Brett Anderson, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda and Joe Blanton this offseason. The team also figures to get back Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu at some point as they recover from their injuries from last year.
Still, this is big news for the two youngsters. Urias, 19, is among the best prospects in baseball. He's been in the Dodgers' system since the 2013 season and he reached Triple-A in 2015. He's 7-7 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 264 strikeouts in 61 games (222-1/3 innings).
Despite his success thus far, Los Angeles will need to keep an eye on his innings limit. The Mexican left-hander has yet to throw more than 87-2/3 innings in a season, so it'll be interesting to see if he exceeds last year's total (80-1/3 innings) by a wide margin since he's got a good shot to start the year at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
"The Dodgers will monitor his workload jump in 2016," writes Ben Badler of Baseball America. "He has top-of-the-rotation potential, and his prodigious talent already has pushed him to the cusp of the majors."
As for De Leon, the 23-year-old wasn't born into baseball royalty like Urias was. The right-hander was drafted in the 24th round in 2013 and managed to turn himself into a top prospect. He's also been in the Dodgers' system since 2013 and owns a 16-12 record with a 3.61 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 335 strikeouts in 51 games (244-1/3 innings) over those three seasons.
He reached Double-A for the first time in his career in 2015 and posted a 3.64 ERA with 105 strikeouts over 16 starts as he continues to ascend up the system.
"De Leon's work ethic has helped him go from a draft afterthought to one of the best pitching prospects in baseball," Badler added. "He has a chance to be a No. 2 or 3 starter, likely opening 2016 at Triple-A Oklahoma City, with a chance to make his big league debut by midseason."
Keep an eye on these two talented pitchers. They'll be some of the most monitored prospects this year as their MLB debuts aren't too far off.
