The Dodgers have seven players on MLB's Top 100 Prospects list, tied for the most with the Mariners. Christian Zazueta is proving the talent doesn’t stop there.
It's often said that Double-A can be the most difficult level for prospects to transition to, but it certainly didn't seem to bother Los Angeles' No. 8 prospect in his first start. Zazueta allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings in Tulsa’s 3-2 walk-off win over Corpus Christi at ONEOK Field. The 21-year-old racked up eight strikeouts and generated 11 swings-and-misses without surrendering a walk.
Over the past two starts, including his last outing for High-A Great Lakes on June 18, Zazueta has allowed just one hit while striking out 15 without a walk over 10 innings. Expand that further, and the right-hander has been outstanding over four June starts with a 1.10 ERA, an 8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and just two earned runs allowed in 16 1/3 innings. Thursday’s debut lowered his ERA for the season to 3.52.
Zazueta has progressively improved month by month since starting the campaign with an ERA of 4.76 in April. Credit his three-pitch mix, headlined by a pair of 60-grade pitches in his fastball and changeup.
COMPLETE DODGERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Originally signed by the Yankees in 2022, Zazueta posted a 4.54 ERA in 20 outings over two season in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. He was traded to the Dodgers in the Caleb Ferguson deal two years later.
Zazueta struggled to a 5.20 ERA in his first season in the organization between the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, but he displayed his penchant for strikeouts with 86 of them over 71 innings (10.9 K/9).
He really started to find his footing last season, posting a combined 2.41 ERA across 17 starts between the Quakes and the Loons. And the strikeouts ... they just kept coming at a 12.2 K/9 clip to start 2026. And they're already starting to come at the Minors' toughest level.