José Ureña

José Miguel Ureña Rodriguez (born September 12, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Miami Marlins.

For the politician, see José Rafael Molina Ureña.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ureña and the second or maternal family name is Rodriguez.

José Ureña
Ureña at 2019 Spring Training
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher
Born: (1991-09-12) September 12, 1991
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 14, 2015, for the Miami Marlins
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Win–loss record32–45
Earned run average4.60
Strikeouts401
Teams

Career

Minor leagues
Ureña pitching for the New Orleans Zephyrs in 2016

Ureña grew up in the Dominican Republic. The Marlins signed him on August 28, 2009,[1] and he played for two seasons with the Dominican Summer League Marlins.[2] In 2011, he played in short season Single-A with the Jamestown Jammers, posting a 4.33 ERA in 15 starts. In 2012, he advanced to full-season Single-A, posting a 3.38 ERA in 138.1 innings with the Greensboro Grasshoppers. In 2013, he played in high Single-A with the Jupiter Hammerheads, pitching 149.2 innings with a 3.73 ERA. In 2014, he amassed a record of 13-8, pitching 162 innings with 121 strikeouts and a 3.33 ERA.[2]

Ureña began the 2015 season with the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.[3]

Miami Marlins

Ureña was called up to the majors for the first time on April 13, 2015 to replace David Phelps.[4] In his first major league start on May 26, 2015, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he gave up five runs in ​4 2⁄3 innings and took the 5–1 loss.[5] In 20 games (9 starts) with the Marlins in 2015, Ureña finished with a 1–5 record and a 5.25 ERA.

In 2016, Ureña split time starting and in the bullpen, finishing the year with a 4–9 record and a 6.13 ERA in 28 games (12 starts).

In 2017, Ureña improved, appearing in 34 games (28 starts) with a 14–7 record, and a 3.82 ERA. He also hit a league-leading 14 batsmen with pitches.

Ureña was named the Opening Day starter for 2018. On Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs on March 29, 2018, Ureña did not fare well as he surrendered a home run by Ian Happ on the first pitch he threw. He allowed five runs altogether in 4+ innings as the Marlins lost 4–8.[6] Ureña started 16 games for the Marlins before landing on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.[7] On August 15, 2018, he was ejected from a game against the Atlanta Braves after hitting Ronald Acuña Jr. on the elbow with the first pitch of the game, which led to the Braves' and Marlins' benches clearing.[8] Acuña had hit a home run in his previous five games. Ureña received a six-game suspension for his role in the altercation.[9][10] In his next start, Ureña threw a complete game against the Washington Nationals, giving up one run on two hits while striking out four batters.[11] He ended the season going 6–0 in his final seven starts to go along with a 1.80 ERA.[12]

By posting a 3.82 ERA in 2017 and a 3.98 ERA in 2018, Ureña became just the sixth starting pitcher in Marlins history to post a sub-4.00 ERA in consecutive seasons, joining Pat Rapp, Kevin Brown, Dontrelle Willis, Josh Johnson, and Aníbal Sánchez.[13]

In 2019, Ureña became the eighth pitcher in Marlins history to make consecutive Opening Day starts.[14] After beginning the season 0–3, he tossed quality starts in eight of his next nine outings, going 4–3 with a 2.95 ERA over that span.[15] Following a start against the Atlanta Braves on June 7, 2019, Ureña was placed on the injured list with a herniated disc in his lower back.[16] At the time of his injury, he was tied for twelfth in the MLB with eight quality starts. On November 30, 2020, Ureña was designated for assignment following the acquisition of Adam Cimber.[17] On December 2, Urena was nontendered by the Marlins

Detroit Tigers

On December 23, 2020, Ureña signed a one year, $3.25 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.[18]

Pitching style

According to a scouting report prepared for MLB's 2014 midseason prospect rankings, the eighth-ranked Ureña had "an above-average fastball that can touch the mid 90s", a change-up, and a breaking ball that is "a combination of a slider and a curve". He was said to have "above-average command".[1] However, Ureña's command of the ball has dipped significantly since the start of the 2017 season with ESPN writers recognizing "a history of control problems," noting that in 2017, he hit 14 batters in 2017, tying in the MLB for hit batters, and as of hitting Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2018, had tied for second in the National League, hitting 10 batters.[19]

References
  1. "Jose Urena". MLB.com. June 30, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  2. Snyder, Andrew (September 3, 2014). "Miami Marlins Prospects: Jose Urena Finishes Strong". SB Nation. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  3. "Miami Marlins' Justin Nicolino headed to New Orleans Zephyrs". MiLB.com. March 3, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  4. De Nicola, Christina (April 14, 2015). "Marlins top prospect Jose Ureña throws scoreless inning in debut". Fox Sports. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  5. "Pirates run win streak to 5, top Marlins 5-1". ESPN. Associated Press. May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  6. "Marlins, Ureña roughed up early in Opening Day loss to Cubs". Sun Sentinel Sports. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  7. Davis, Craig. "Marlins' Jose Ureña goes on DL with shoulder injury; Wittgren returns".
  8. Bowman, Mark (August 15, 2018). "Acuna drilled by 1st pitch, benches clear". MLB.com. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  9. "Marlins' Jose Urena suspended 6 games for hitting Ronald Acuna". ESPN. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  10. Frisaro, Joe (August 16, 2018). "Urena suspended 6 games for hitting Acuna". MLB.com. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  11. "Jose Urena throws 1st complete game, Marlins rout Nationals 12-1". NBC Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  12. "Jose Ureña". Fangraphs. Fangraphs.com. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  13. "Miami Marlins Top 50 Single-Season Pitching Leaders". Sports Reference, LLC. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  14. "Jose Urena named Marlins' Opening Day starter again". ESPN. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  15. "Jose Ureña". Fangraphs. Fangraphs.com. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  16. "Marlins' Jose Urena: Dealing with herniated disc". CBS Sports. Rotowire. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  17. "Miami Marlins acquire Adam Cimber from Cleveland Indians, designate Jose Urena for assignment". ESPN. Associated Press. November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  18. Beck, Jason (December 23, 2020). "Tigers bolster rotation, sign RHP Ureña". MLB.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  19. "Acuna drilled by first Urena pitch, sparking melee". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
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