With the release of MLB Pipeline’s latest Top 100 Prospects list, the Dodgers are once again one of the most highly represented. Only the Mariners have more than L.A.’s six prospects, and that gap could be closed in the near future.
Southpaw Jackson Ferris ended last year ranked No. 98 and was one of the players who just missed the 2026 rankings, and River Ryan, who was Top 100 in 2024, figures to quickly factor into the Dodgers’ big league rotation plans after returning from Tommy John.
Who could be the club’s next pitching prospect to join the Top 100? After looking at three hitters who have a chance to make that leap, we’ll shift our attention to three pitchers who could land on the Top 100 for the first time in 2026.
Christian Zazueta, RHP
Zazueta was a limber and projectable prospect when the Dodgers acquired him as part of the 2024 Caleb Ferguson trade with the Yankees, and he’s fulfilling his potential as he fills out his 6-foot-3 frame. The Mexico native took a big step forward in 2025 in his first complete full-season ball campaign.
The separator between Zazueta and the pitchers lower on this list is that he seems to have the best chance of showcasing three plus pitches with plus command to match. While his fastball velocity isn’t overwhelming — topping out at 97 mph — his low release, extension and deceptive delivery help play up the natural rise and run. His changeup has been his standout secondary pitch to date, garnering a 45 percent whiff rate, per Synergy, thanks to impressive fade and sink. His slider can have different shapes and is behind the other two pitches but flashes great movement to mirror the changeup, and the righty commands it well.
The big question for Zazueta will be how he holds up with a bigger workload against more advanced hitting. The 21-year-old dominated in the lower Minors with plenty of whiffs and chase on all three pitches, but he has yet to pitch more than 71 frames in a season — he missed time in 2025 with an ankle sprain.
Adam Serwinowski, LHP
Serwinowski has perhaps the best two-pitch mix of any hurler in the Dodgers’ system, a fastball-slider combination hard to find in a lefty his size (6-foot-5). He made seven Minor League starts after arriving in a Trade Deadline deal from Cincinnati and seems to be making rapid progress.
While his heater only averaged 93.7 mph last year, Serwinowski’s tremendous extension on a short, quick arm stroke — as well as the natural carry on the pitch — make it hard to hit. His high-spin slider has nice sweeping action and garnered a 43 percent whiff rate, per Synergy, including a whopping 53 percent after the trade.
Serwinowski’s lack of a third pitch is the main thing holding him back. That same short arm stroke that makes his fastball special makes it difficult to throw an effective changeup — he has a splitter but only offered it 7 percent of the time last year. He would profile as a dominant lefty reliever, but the Dodgers have stretched him out, pitching him consistently more than five innings per outing for the first time in his pro career.
COMPLETE DODGERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Zach Root, LHP
A big-time college performer, Root did not pitch competitively after the Dodgers drafted him 40th overall, and he’s set to have one of the most highly anticipated pro debuts of 2026. Although he piled up strikeouts in the Southeastern Conference, Root stands out more as a high-probability starter who avoids hard contact than as a hurler with overwhelming stuff who misses bats.
Root lives in the zone with a solid four-pitch mix that plays up because of the deception from an unorthodox delivery that he repeats well. His changeup and curve got plenty of whiffs at Arkansas, with the former eliciting chases at a 39 percent clip, per Synergy. His slider/cutter is another fine offering, although his sinking fastball has looked hittable at times, so the Dodgers had him working on a riding four-seamer that tops out in the upper 90s.
The southpaw has already filled out his 6-foot-2 frame, so he’s unlikely to add more velocity but could move quickly through the system and take another step forward with his command after living a bit too much in the heart of the zone.
