Dodgers Dev Lab Weekly: Leiter Takes High-A by Storm, Martinus Keeps Mashing
By Emily Sanders ·
Dodgers Dev Lab Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Dodgers farm system.
Cam Leiter's High-A Debut Is Right on Script
Cam Leiter (A+, RHP, Rank: 17) made his first appearance for the Great Lakes Loons after his August 20 promotion from Ontario and did not take long to make an impression. This week he worked three innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out four, generating 11 swinging misses on 57 pitches. The surface line is modest, but the context matters: a second consecutive outing at the new level in which hitters simply could not put the barrel on the ball. Over his last 30 days, spanning both sides of the promotion, Leiter has posted a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings with 23 strikeouts and a 41.8 K% against a 12.7 BB%. Those are starter numbers with closer stuff.
The full-season picture across both levels tells a consistent story: a 2.70 ERA in 50 innings, 77 strikeouts, zero home runs allowed, and a 36.7 K%. The arsenal is the reason. A four-seamer that sits 96-99 mph with carry through the zone, a plus curve with true depth, and a cutter/slider that can tunnel off the heater when he finishes it glove-side give him three pitches capable of generating whiffs on any given night. A 32.8% whiff rate on the season backs that up. The persistent concern is the 12.4 BB% and a command grade that sits at 40, and nothing in the sample fully erases that. But a fastball this loud playing over the plate often papers over location issues, and the jump to High-A has not slowed him down one pitch. I'd take the over on that command grade if the next few months look anything like August.
Martinus Keeps Hitting Through Every Red Flag
There is nothing in the scouting profile of Mairo Martinus (A+, 3B, Rank: 34) that prepares you for what he has been doing at Great Lakes. This week he went 10-for-24 with two home runs, a double, and six RBI across 24 plate appearances, adding his sixth and seventh home runs since arriving at High-A. The profile calls him a bench piece with a 45 hit tool and fringy power, a versatile defender who needs both the bat and the approach to make incremental gains just to reach fringe-average production. He is currently slashing .319/.326/.564 at A+ in 95 plate appearances. That slugging percentage is not a typo.
The full combined season reads .318/.353/.542 with 21 home runs, nine triples, 87 RBI, and 31 stolen bases in 516 plate appearances. Last year at Low-A it was a .246 average and six home runs in 420 trips. The power jump is real, and the speed has translated at every level. The questions the profile raises are legitimate: a 1.1 BB% at High-A is alarming, the swing rate has climbed to 58.7% over the last 30 days, and the contact rate dropped to 62.6% in that stretch. He is selling out for power in a way that will get exposed against better arms. But here is the thing: the 21 home runs, the .318 average, and the 31 stolen bases are all happening together, and the grade sheet has not caught up. Whether the hit tool can survive upper-level pitching remains the real question, but it is a more interesting question than it was six months ago.
Quick Hits
Charles Davalan (A+, OF, Rank: 8) · drove in seven runs on six hits, including three home runs, in 23 plate appearances this week, striking out just twice. A 60 hit tool with a contact rate over 82% and 24 home runs on the season, Davalan is slashing .286/.370/.607 over his last 30 days with seven long balls and a 9.0 K% in that span. He is a left-handed corner bat who belongs in the Double-A conversation by the time spring arrives.
Christian Zazueta (AA, RHP, Rank: 4) · turned in five innings of one-run ball at Tulsa, striking out five and walking one while generating 12 swinging misses on 81 pitches. The season ERA sits at 3.48 at the Double-A level, and over the last 30 days he has posted a 2.79 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 19.1 innings. A 94-98 mph fastball paired with a plus changeup and a 55 command grade gives him a legitimate foundation for a rotation role, and the 37.9 K% at Double-A is hard to ignore.
Eduardo Quintero (A+, OF, Rank: 2) · went 6-for-21 with two doubles, a triple, a hit by pitch, and two walks. He is a 60 runner with a 55 hit tool and 43 stolen bases last season, and the last 30 days have him at .357/.530/.586 with a 22.0 BB% driven by a swing rate that has dropped to 30%. The on-base machine keeps producing at a level that makes the everyday center field projection feel more like a floor than a ceiling.
Emil Morales (A+, SS, Rank: 5) · collected six hits, a home run, two doubles, and four RBI across 21 plate appearances. His 25th homer of the season, and he has driven in 29 runs over his last 30 days while slashing .308/.406/.615. At 19 years old with a 60 power grade operating in High-A, there is a lot to work with here even if the defensive home shifts to third base.
Ching-Hsien Ko (A, OF, Rank: 9) · put together a strong week at Ontario, going 8-for-30 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, six RBI, and six walks against seven strikeouts. Ko is at 20 home runs on the season with a 16.4 BB% that reflects genuine zone awareness, and the last 30 days show a 14.7 BB% with four home runs in 116 plate appearances. The strikeout rate has climbed at Low-A this year, which is the main thing to track as he moves up, but the offensive package keeps delivering.
Jackson Ferris (AAA, LHP, Rank: 7) · worked 6.2 innings at Oklahoma City, giving up one run on seven hits with eight strikeouts and three walks, generating 11 swinging misses on 100 pitches. The season ERA sits at 6.00 in 90 innings, but the last 30 days are a different picture: a 4.57 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 21.2 innings and a 28.4 K%. A plus fastball at 94-97 and two above-average breaking balls give him the arsenal; the delivery consistency and walk rate are still the variables standing between him and a rotation role.
Logan Wagner (AA, 3B, Rank: 47) · went 4-for-22 with a home run and seven walks at Tulsa this week. The batting average at Double-A has been a genuine struggle at .159, but the 17.6 BB% is real and the walk total shows his approach is intact. A switch-hitter with a 55 arm and enough power tools to project at least to a utility role, the contact questions are the only thing keeping the ceiling from being more interesting.
Aidan Foeller (AA, RHP, Rank: 55) · tossed four scoreless innings at Tulsa, allowing one hit and four walks while striking out three. In five starts over the last 30 days, he has pitched to a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings with 20 strikeouts and zero home runs allowed. The season ERA is 1.27 at Double-A through 21.1 innings, a sharp improvement over the 3.46 he posted at High-A. The walk rate remains elevated at 12.0 BB% at the Double-A level, but nothing is getting driven when he locates the fastball.
Joendry Vargas (A, SS, Rank: 20) · went 4-for-13 with three RBI, two walks, and a hit by pitch in a limited week. He is hitting .402 over his last 30 days with 11 doubles, two triples, and three home runs in 99 plate appearances. A 60 arm with projectable physicality and a .298 season average, Vargas has turned in a genuinely strong 2026 rebound after a rough 2025. The swing-and-miss against secondary stuff is the developmental hurdle left to clear.
Brooks Auger (A+, RHP, Rank: 35) · gave up two runs on one hit in three innings with six strikeouts and two walks, generating 18 swinging misses on 63 pitches. Eighteen swings and misses on 63 pitches is a number worth staring at for a moment. The season ERA stands at 3.54 across 56 innings at High-A, and a 33.8 K% confirms the bat-missing is genuine. The walk rate and command grade are real concerns for the long-term profile, but the whiff ability at this level is a real weapon.
Payton Martin (AA, RHP, Rank: 32) · returned from the injured list August 29 after missing time since August 12 and made his first appearance back, tossing two innings with three strikeouts, one walk, and no runs allowed. He carries a 5.73 ERA in 99 innings at Tulsa this season, so the return outing was a clean step in the right direction. No diagnosis was confirmed for the IL stint; the performance on the way back was at least encouraging.
Wyatt Crowell (AA, LHP, Rank: 51) · returned from the injured list August 27 after missing more than a month and got into a game, throwing 0.2 innings with three walks and one earned run. The reactivation is good news, but the 13.50 ERA in his first outing back and a 5.21 season ERA at Tulsa show a pitcher still working through command issues on both sides of the IL stint.
Kellon Lindsey (A, 2B, Rank: 12) · drew nine walks in 32 plate appearances this week, adding a home run and four hits. An __ runner with a 17.0 BB% on the season at Low-A, Lindsey's game is built around speed and discipline, with 18 stolen bases already. The contact rate at 65.1% is the swing-and-miss concern to watch as he advances, but the on-base profile and elite athleticism keep the everyday projection alive.