Gio Urshela Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 0" / 215 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 10/11/1991 (32)
- Experience
- 8
- College
- None
Gio Urshela Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Gio Urshela News
Detroit Tigers third baseman Gio Urshela (hamstring) was cleared to resume baseball activities on Tuesday. After suffering a Grade 1 right hamstring strain in Friday's win over the Minnesota Twins, Urshela was able to do some straight-line running drills on Tuesday. The fact that the 32-year-old defensive-minded infielder is already progressing from the injury means he should be able to return to the Tigers in early May. Although Urshela was hitting for a .298 batting average (17-for-57) before going down, he has just two extra-base hits and six RBI over 18 games in Detroit's weak lineup and is not a recommended stash in the majority of fantasy leagues. Utility man Matt Vierling will handle the lion's share of the reps at third base until Urshela is back healthy, but fantasy managers can do better on waiver wires.
The Detroit Tigers placed infielder Gio Urshela (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right-hamstring strain and recalled infielder Buddy Kennedy from Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move. Urshela was removed from Friday night's win over the Minnesota Twins with right-hamstring tightness after running to first base and will now miss at least the next 10 days. Kennedy will provide infield depth for the Tigers in the meantime, but Matt Vierling is the most likely candidate to see most of the playing time at the hot corner in Detroit until Urshela is able to return. Vierling is at third and batting fifth on Saturday against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober. Although Urshela doesn't have a homer this year, he was hitting .298 (17-for-57) with six RBI at the time of his injury on Friday night.
When the Detroit Tigers signed infielder Gio Urshela to a one-year, $1.5 million deal late in February, having him serve as the primary third baseman in 2024 always made the most sense but the Tigers didn't make any declarations about his playing time because they needed to evaluate his on-field performance in his return from a broken pelvis last year. With eight days until Opening Day on March 28 against the Chicago White Sox, Urshela hasn't locked down starting duties at the hot corner as he competes with Matt Vierling, Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibanez. Vierling was projected to be the primary third baseman before the team signed Urshela, only to move back to his previous role as an outfielder. Urshela is the best defender, but he hasn't been hitting for power or drawing walks on offense. Urshela and Vierling -- both right-handed hitters -- are at the top of the pecking order in the internal plan for a primary third baseman.
Batting Order
1 | Riley Greene |
2 | Mark Canha |
3 | Wenceel Pérez |
4 | Spencer Torkelson |
5 | Matt Vierling |
6 | Parker Meadows |
7 | Buddy Kennedy |
8 | Javier Báez |
9 | Jake Rogers |
Gio Urshela Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
1 | Riley Greene |
2 | Mark Canha |
3 | Wenceel Pérez |
4 | Spencer Torkelson |
5 | Matt Vierling |
6 | Parker Meadows |
7 | Buddy Kennedy |
8 | Javier Báez |
9 | Jake Rogers |
After his out-of-nowhere breakout in 2019, the pressure was on New York Yankees third basemanGio Urshela to prove it wasn't a fluke. He lived up to it, as he put together a very nice 2020 season. While he didn't display as strong a power profile as he did in 2019, he did still manage a solid .192 ISO and his Statast batted-ball profile is quite encouraging and not far off from his 2019 breakout season. His average exit velocity (91.4 mph) and expected batting average (.315) both topped his 2019 marks, while his barrel and hard-hit rates were in line with his 2019 season. Urshela also maintained his reputation for putting the ball in play, with his strikeout rate dropping way down to 14.4%, one of the lowest marks in baseball. Urshela also made strides in what was his biggest area of weakness: plate discipline. His walk rate skyrocketed to 10.3%, double what it was in 2019. This was due to Urshela being a bit more selective at the plate. His swing rate dropped 8% to 48.2% swing rate. That drop in swing rate is mainly due to his chase rate dropping 12.5% to 27.6%. Urshela already had an encouraging batted-ball profile, but with an extra boost in plate discipline, he should be a player to believe in going forward and is likely still a bargain with an ADP in the 150s.