Dodgers' Julio Urías among 2022 National League Cy Young award finalists

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías, who led the National League in ERA and was second in wins in the 2022 Major League Baseball season, is among the three finalists for the National League Cy Young Award, whose winner will be announced next week.

Sandy Alcántara, of the Miami Marlins, and Max Fried, of the Atlanta Braves, are his rivals to beat in the voting conducted at the end of the season by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

The Dodgers left-hander finished last season as MLB's only 20-game winner and was seventh in ERA at 2.96, but he wasn't even considered in the Top 5, finishing seventh with just 3 points.

Now, with a 2.16 ERA in 31 starts and 17 wins, he landed a spot on the list, which does not include the Braves' Kyle Wright, who, like Urías last year, was the only one to win 20 games this season, and was left out of the top three of the finalists.

The Mexico native entered the Cy Young conversation in the second half of the season, because in the first his numbers were not even considered worthy of participation in the All-Star Game.

The only Mexican player who has won the Cy Young is Fernando Valenzuela, who did it in his rookie season in 1981 with the Dodgers.

ESPN Deportes contributed to this report.