The 2026 season may have come to an end for Christian Zazueta on Thursday, but he stamped another excellent outing in his breakout campaign for good measure.
Zazueta fanned seven across five innings of two-run ball for Double-A Tulsa in the Texas League semifinals, scattering four hits and walking just one. The Drillers, however, fell to Springfield, 6-4, at ONEOK Field. A late rally sent the Cardinals on their second straight trip to the finals.
The lone damage against Zazueta came on a pair of solo home runs, one each from Jesús Báez and Cade McGee. He navigated minimal traffic otherwise, and his 60-grade fastball was responsible for all seven strikeouts. Zazueta flashed good command at the top of the strike zone with the pitch.
The game was tied at 2 apiece when Zazueta was lifted to start the sixth inning. The Cardinals then scored four runs across the final two frames to earn the win.
COMPLETE DODGERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
The 21-year-old righty rocketed up prospect rankings this year, now sitting at No. 5 in the Dodgers system and No. 35 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. With River Ryan's departure in the Tarik Skubal trade, Zazueta became the Dodgers' top pitching prospect, though the Mexico native has since surpassed Ryan's rank, too.
He pitched to a 3.65 ERA across two levels this season, including 144 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings. Zazueta additionally allowed no more than two runs in 14 of his final 16 starts.