Zach Root
Zach Root burst onto the Dodger scene Saturday night, looking like the reincarnation of Sandy Koufax … with an altered delivery. The story of Zach Root is actually a pretty classic “late-blooming, grinder-to-dude” arc with a few sharp turns along the way. He is not a can’t-miss…
Zach Root burst onto the Dodger scene Saturday night, looking like the reincarnation of Sandy Koufax … with an altered delivery. The story of Zach Root is actually a pretty classic “late-blooming, grinder-to-dude” arc with a few sharp turns along the way. He is not a can’t-miss phenom — He’s more like a slow-burning fuse. Let me explain. He was born on Feb 6, 2004, in Fort Myers, Florida, and attended Fort Myers High School. As a senior, he posted a 6–2 record, with a 1.50 ERA (he also hit .346)… and was not drafted in 2022. Next, he went to the MLB Draft Combine… and still got passed over.
So, He heads to East Carolina and starts carving himself into a real pitcher:
Freshman (2023):
- 3–3
- 5.53 ERA
- Flashes, but inconsistent
Sophomore (2024):
- 6–2
- 3.56 ERA
- 76 strikeouts,
- Opponents hit just .228
He was improving, going from “who cares” to “interesting arm” to “reliable starter,” but he was not yet a top-tier national name. So, he made a bold, career-defining move:
He transfers to Arkansas — big stage, SEC spotlight. BOOM!!!
2025 (Junior year):
- 9–6 record
- 3.62 ERA
- 126 strikeouts in 99 innings
- 30% strikeout rate
- First-team All-SEC
- College World Series run
That was when the scouts started turning their heads. Root isn’t built like a 100 mph highlight reel. Instead, he’s more like a pitching chess player:
- Fastball: 91–94 (touches 97) with sink
- Changeup = best pitch (real weapon)
- Curveball = swing-and-miss machine
- Cutter/slider = fourth piece
- Uses a deep 4-pitch mix evenly
- He led D1 in curveball strikeouts (51)
And his delivery?
- High leg kick
- Funky arm path
- Tough angle on hitters
Think less “overpowering bully”… more “lefty surgeon with a full toolkit.” He became the Dodgers’ top pick in 2025 (#40 overall), and signed for $2.2 Million.
Dodgers-style projection (this is the interesting part)
This is very Dodgers:
- Not just velocity
- Command + pitch mix + deception
- High floor starter profile
Think:
- Mid-rotation starter upside
- Fast mover through the system
- Could outperform his draft slot
To me, he’s a combination of the good traits of Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, and Mark Buehrle. He’s the opposite of Bobby Miller. I believe we will see him in 2027, if not sooner. I think he’s a guy who can get outs in October. He seems to have a slow heartbeat. He also plays with passion and fire in his belly. I like that!
Why Alex Freeland?
A lot of Dodger fans are scratching their heads, wondering why Hyeseong Kim did not make the Opening Day Roster because he had better stats. But did he really? Kim hit .407 in 27 AB’s, and had 11 hits, including one home run. However, the other ten hits were all singles. He also only walked 1 time. I saw every hit, and many were the seeing-eye variety. In other words, Kim was lucky.
On the other hand, Alex Freeland only hit .116 in 43 ABs. He had just 5 hits, 2 doubles, and 1 home run, but the big deal was that he walked 11 times. The Dodgers value that much more than singles. Alex hit a few balls “right on the screws,” which were caught. He is a switch-hitter and hit .190 as a rookie. The Dodgers believe in him more than they believe in Kim. He is also more adept defensively than Kim, at more positions. It’s as simple as that! I think that as soon as Tommy Tanks returns, Kim could be traded. There are teams who would be all over him…. just not Friedman. In Friedman I trust!
Rants & Raves
- The Dodgers are ready!
- Tanner Scott is still questionable… very questionable.
- Blake Treinen was better and struck out three in his one inning!
- I think Teoscar and Andy are primed for good-to-very good seasons.
- Ronan Kopp will be a factor in the bullpen THIS YEAR… if he can stop the walks (he did last night).
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Discussion (74)
Disagree, not disagreeable
LOL!
Well, here’s the deal: You have guys like Miggy Ro, who are true leaders with a high baseball IQ, and then you have guys like CT3 and Barnsie, who are guys you would go to war with, but they are not teachers, and (no offense to them), but they are not “brainiacs.” They were always team-first guys. I think JT will be back, however!
Inner circle of Junkyard Dogs.
Barnes? DFA? Shocker!!!! Who knew?
I don’t think it would have changed anything. Freeland is just more fundamentally sound than Kim. Kim may ultimately become a better player, but Freeland has more value to the Dodgers now.
Maybe a couple of games…
WTF are we talking about here??!!?!?? What does inner inner mean? No Smith? Betts? Kershaw? Trienen? Phillips? Kenley?
Inner inner circle Dodgers: Taylor Barnes Turner Muncy Keekay
Yep And we called him on it
I can’t wait for the season to start.
I hope both Barnes and CT3 will realize that their time has come to an end. And I hope that Andrew reaches out to both of them to offer them spots in the organization. They would both certainly have something to contribute. They were always team-first guys.
Bummer
Austin Barnes cut by the Mets.
Totally agree with that.
Lux will begin the season on the IL with a shoulder impingement.
in my opinion,Kim made a huge mistake by going and playing in the WBC and that factored into the Dodger’s decision to send him to Oklahoma City.
Nice win last night. Teo looked totally ready for the season to begin. Glasnow looked really good too. Yeah, Scott gave up a homer, but the error by the kid third baseman made it worse than it would have been, Muncy would have made that play.
Just in case some of you have tried to get onto Jeff’s site, for some reason, and he is checking into it, the site comes up as not existing. He is trying to get in touch with his tech. So far, no response.
I thought any rest Freddie agreed to (that won’t be easy) would go to rushing to get him as many MLB at bats this year as possible. Would they really start Espinal over rushing?
From The Athletic: “But the decision, Roberts said, came down to the quality of at-bats over stats and production, and ensuring everyday reps for Kim as he works through several mechanical changes — something he wasn’t able to do while away from the team. “The driver, as far as at the outset, was giving Hyeseong an opportunity to play every day, play all over the diamond,” the manager said Sunday afternoon ahead of the Dodgers’ exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. “He’s gonna play some short, some center, some second base (at Triple A). Whereas here, he just wouldn’t have the runway to do that, to play more frequently. (Kim) is an excellent, elite second baseman. But to continue to get at-bats, the versatility piece, the opportunity to do that, he wouldn’t be really getting that here.” Still, opting for Freeland was a surprising move given how things appeared at the start of spring. When the Dodgers announced Tommy Edman would start the season on the injured list, it seemed to open the door for a starting role for Kim, providing him with consistent big-league at-bats for the first time. Roberts was encouraged by how Kim’s first week of games went but acknowledged the mechanics were off while Kim played in the WBC. Freeland’s results were hardly better, but the organization believes the overall quality of his at-bats, specifically the chase rate, was improved over Kim’s. “With Alex, the at-bat quality has been fine,” Roberts said. “He didn’t finish off at-bats, but I do think the process was right, and that’s something we’re willing to bet on.” “There’s nothing left for (Freeland) to prove there,” Roberts added. “So I think for us to give him a little bit of runway, to see what we got in him, to give him an opportunity to play here for us against right-handed pitching.” The Dodgers will use a traditional platoon at second base, with Freeland starting against righties and Miguel Rojas against lefties. Santiago Espinal, a non-roster invite who earned his way onto the Opening Day roster after a stellar spring, will serve as depth options at third and first base.
We’re all rooting for Root!!!!!!
Give the man a mop. & Root just burst up the prospect charts with that performance. Ferris, Root, Zazueta, Serwinowski, Copen
I think the pen will be fine… maybe not right away! If only half of the arms pan out, they will be fine. I am not giving up on Scott… yet!
Same old Tanner Scott as last year. Nothing has changed after last night’s horrid performance. There was absolutely no pressure on him with the large lead the Dodgers had and he failed to perform. The bullpen overall looks weak.