The Dodgers’ push toward 2027 could hinge on getting faster, younger, and a little more unpredictable.
That was the lesson from their most recent National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The big league club looked old, and the organization’s next wave has a chance to change that. Josue De Paula is the headliner and should break camp with the team no matter what, but there are other prospects who could carve out meaningful roles in 2027.
One of the most intriguing is the Mexican hurler Zazueta, who is now the top pitching prospect in the organization. At 6-foot-3, the right-hander already brings a power fastball, an above-average changeup and a wicked slider.
He is still filling out physically and may be 170 pounds soaking wet, but more strength in that long frame could help him add even more velocity. The upside is obvious: the projection as a possible top-of-the-rotation arm is real.
Zazueta is an athletic pitcher, and that helps him get serious tilt on his offspeed mix.
On the position-player side, Ehrhard looks like the kind of useful depth piece teams end up valuing more than the public does. He came to the Dodgers as something of a throw-in in the deal that sent Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox, with James Tibbs III as the centerpiece.
Still, Ehrhard has the profile of a player the Dodgers clearly like. He’s tough, competitive and versatile, with the ability to handle all three outfield spots at a good level.
At Triple-A Oklahoma City, he hit .291 with an .872 OPS and stole 28 bases. There’s a path where he becomes a reserve outfielder in place of Alex Call, who could be non-tendered this offseason.
Then there’s Kendall George, the speed weapon who forced his way into the conversation with pure quickness. The Texas native does have limitations: scouts see a below-average arm, and he offers little in the way of power.
But the speed is elite. After being promoted to Double-A Tulsa this past year, George hit .332 with an .817 OPS, and over the last two seasons he has piled up 136 stolen bases combined.
He could become a very useful piece for the Dodgers by 2027, the kind of player who changes the game on the bases and can provide a spark when the offense stalls, especially in October.
In Other News...
Freddie Freemans Honest Dodgers Reality Check Will Hit Fans Hard
The Dodgers have spent the winter living with the sting of their NLCS sweep at the hands of the Brewers, and Freddie Freeman did not dress it up. His reminder was plain: in baseball, nothing is promised just because a roster looks loaded or a payroll says it should be. For a franchise that expects to measure itself by October, it was a blunt reality check after a short postseason that left little room for spin.
It also lands with a little extra irony given the backdrop around the game right now. Major League Baseball and Marvel Studios used the 2026 World Series to unveil an exclusive preview of Avengers: Doomsday, complete with MLB stars in a ceremonial first-pitch scene filmed on a set built to resemble Ebbets Field, the old Brooklyn home of the Dodgers. The image is glossy and celebratory, but Freemans point remains the one the Dodgers have to live with: in baseball, the sequel is never guaranteed. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers May Not Be Done Adding To Their Japanese Core
Andrew Friedman made it clear the Dodgers are not treating their recent success in Japan as a finished project. The front office has already built a strong pipeline with three active Japanese-born players on the roster, and the club has shown it can not only land elite talent from NPB but also help it settle in quickly once it arrives in Los Angeles.
Teruaki Sato of the Hanshin Tigers is among the names expected to draw MLB attention this offseason, and the Dodgers figure to remain in the conversation whenever top Japanese talent becomes available. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki already part of the organizations recent track record, the next move could come from the same market that has helped shape so much of the clubs roster-building success. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Could Be Chasing Another Japanese Arm Fans Will Want
The Dodgers interest in Japanese talent has become a familiar part of their roster-building, and Shoki Oda is the latest name to surface in that conversation. The 18-year-old pitching prospect has already made a reputation for himself with eye-catching velocity and a record-setting high school career, the kind of background that naturally puts him on the radar of a club that has leaned into scouting and developing talent from Japan.
Andrew Friedman has acknowledged the organizations attention to that market, and Oda has made it clear he wants a shot at the top level of baseball. For now, though, there is no official signing or decision in place, which leaves the Dodgers in the same position they often seem to prefer with international targets: closely watching, waiting, and seeing whether another big arm becomes part of the pipeline. [Read more 🡒]