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GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 21: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zach Root (41) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox in a Spring Breakout Game on March 21, 2026, at Camelback Ranch at Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Zach Root, the Dodgers first draft pick in 2025, has been on quite a run for the last three weeks, culminating in winning Midwest League pitcher of the week on Monday after his best start yet as a professional for High-A Great Lakes.
Root last Tuesday allowed only one single in seven innings with nine strikeouts and no walks against the Lansing Lugnuts, an A’s affiliate.
The Dodgers selected the left-hander out of Arkansas with the 40th overall draft pick last July. Root didn’t pitch in 2025, and had a coming out party of sorts in the spring breakout game against White Sox minor leaguers in March, with eight strikeouts in three innings.
This April for Great Lakes, Root was pulled in the first inning of his second start after 32 pitches and only two outs, then rolled his ankle in the second inning of his third start on April 18. The Loons didn’t place Root on the injured list, but he went 19 days between starts as he recovered from the ankle injury.
Since then, Root has not allowed a run. The 22-year-old has been gradually building up innings, going 1 2/3, 2 2/3, 3 2/3, and then four innings before his seven-inning gem last week. Root also struck out nine batters at Dayton in only four frames on May 27, giving him a professional high in strikeouts in each of his last two starts.
Root’s start last week got him noticed in the Baseball America prospect report by Mark Chiarelli, who noted Root against Lansing generated 16 whiffs and threw two-thirds of his pitches for strikes.
On the season, Root has a 1.50 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 12 walks in 24 innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .126/.232/.184 against him. Among all Dodgers minor leagueers with at least 20 innings pitched, Root’s 38.4-percent ranks second, trailing only his Great Lakes teammate Alex Makarewich (39 percent), the reliever who won Midwest League pitcher of the week last week. Root’s 26.3-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate ranks fourth in the system.
When Root makes his next start, he’ll bring a string of 19 consecutive scoreless innings with him to the mound, with only four hits and eight walks allowed, with 30 strikeouts.
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