The Los Angeles Dodgers have named Julio Urias as their 2023 Opening Day starting pitcher, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. Urias gets the nod over Clayton Kershaw against the Arizona Diamondbacks to open the Dodgers' season.

Kershaw is a future Hall of Famer and is one of the best Dodgers' pitchers of all time. However, this marks the second consecutive season in which Kershaw will not start Opening Day, as Walker Buehler got the nod last year. That doesn't seem to bother Kershaw though. He recently expressed his support for Julio Urias, even stating that Urias “deserves” to draw the start.

“I think it should be whoever pitched the best the year before, and he (Urias) did that,” Kershaw said of Urias starting Opening Day, per Jack Harris. “So he deserves it.”

Julio Urias was an NL Cy Young finalist in 2022. The young left-hander posted a league-leading 2.16 ERA in 175 innings pitched for the Dodgers. He added 166 strikeouts as well.

The Dodgers are counting on both Urias and Kershaw to lead the rotation in 2023. The departures of Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney added an element of uncertainty around the pitching staff. Additionally, Tony Gonsolin is set to begin the year on the injured list. As a result, the Dodgers are expected to name one of Ryan Pepiot, Michael Grove, or Andre Jackson as their fifth starting pitcher in a rotation that already includes Urias, Kershaw, Dustin May, and Noah Syndergaard.

Los Angeles' pitching is still good enough to compete in the NL West. Julio Urias will look to set the tone on Opening Day with a strong performance.