When the Dodgers rolled the dice on Cam Leiter with their second-round pick in the 2025 Draft and handed him the slot value of nearly $1.35 million, they were banking on both the upside of a hurler who hadn’t pitched since March 2024 and the pedigree of one who boasts one of the most famous pitching last names of the past four decades.
Leiter, now the Dodgers’ No. 16 prospect, finally returned to the mound on April 3 at Single-A. The 22-year-old spent the spring building up his pitch count and largely overwhelming California League hitters, allowing one run or fewer in 14 of his 18 appearances.
Even his promotion to High-A Great Lakes on Aug. 20 did little to stem his momentum. Leiter tossed his third consecutive Midwest League start without allowing an earned run Saturday night, spinning a career-high five frames as the Loons topped Lake County, 5-0, at Classic Auto Group Park and punched their ticket to the postseason in the process, opening the door for the righty to have at least one more outing in 2026.
Overall, Leiter’s first taste of pro ball has been a resounding success, posting a 2.45 ERA with 80 strikeouts across 55 regular-season innings. Both his 35.2 percent K rate and 13.1 K/9 rank third among all current Dodgers Minor Leaguers to have worked at least 50 frames this season. Batters combined to hit .189 against him during the regular season and slugged just .230 with zero home runs.
COMPLETE DODGERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
At 6-foot-5 and 234 pounds, Leiter’s power fastball has been as advertised. It’s a 65-grade behemoth that he has cranked up into the upper 90s with regularity this summer and he pairs it well with two breakers -- an upper-80s slider that gets a ton of whiffs and a low-80s curve that gets good tilt. Those three offerings alone could allow him to be a quick mover if the bullpen is ultimately the way things play out, but the split-change in his arsenal gives him a more well-rounded look that might allow him to stick in a rotation.
Building back up his workload will be the first step. Leiter was shut down in early 2024 due to shoulder issues and subsequent cleanup surgery put him on the shelf ahead of the Draft. With that in mind, the Dodgers understandably kept both Leiter’s innings and pitch count in check during his first year of pro competition. The 64 pitches he threw Saturday mark his career high and he exceeded 50 on just seven of his 21 appearances.
Leiter, the son of Kurt (who spent four seasons in the Minors), nephew of Al and Mark and cousin of Jack and Mark Jr., posted a 6.2 BB/9 rate across two college seasons split between Central Florida and Florida State. But he kept that number relatively in check during his debut, running just 4.3 BB/9 in 2026.
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During a summer that has featured a bevy of exciting offensive Dodgers prospects making names for themselves all across the system, Leiter has quietly emerged as the latest breakout hurler in an organization that has established itself as one of the premier development apparatuses across the game.