by Cary Osborne
Dodger pitching prospect Jackson Ferris was looking to join the group of two dozen. He sat and listened intently as fellow pitching prospect Jack Dreyer twisted and spun the panels of a colorful block.
Dreyer always keeps at least a pair of Rubik’s Cubes around. He has two at the base of his locker at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
Baseball can sometimes offer long stretches of quiet solitude, and Dreyer used some of it to master the mathematics of solving a Rubik’s Cube. He has done it in 13 seconds and can do it on command in 20.
“I’m not quite as good as I once was,” he said. “I’ve forgotten some algorithms, but I think I’ve probably memorized 70 or 80 different algorithms for different situations. But I really enjoy teaching guys.”
He has taken it a step beyond, creating art with Rubik’s Cubes he has solved. His first attempt was an American flag. His favorite is a Rubik’s Cube portrait of the late actor Chadwick Boseman. He has also made one of Shohei Ohtani.
Dreyer has had a recent run of success at solving challenges. He had Tommy John surgery in 2021 at the University of Iowa. The Dodgers signed him as an undrafted free agent. Three years later — despite being absent from industry top Dodger prospect lists — Dreyer was promoted to the Dodger 40-man roster. That places him on the doorstep of the Major Leagues.
“There’s always the chip on your shoulder for sure, being an undrafted free agent,” he said. “I kind of enjoy being able to say that I was undrafted. It just makes things like this feel a little bit more special. I think the Dodgers do such a good job of they don’t care where you’ve come from, how much you’re getting paid. If you are good and if you have success, they’re going to keep leaning into your success and give you opportunities.”
Dreyer said he didn’t expect to get the call he received in November informing him that he had been elevated to the 40-man roster.
“He’s just made himself into what he is, and a lot of it is via work ethic and who he is,” said Will Rhymes, Dodger vice president of player development. “He’s left-handed, which helps. It’s a really special fastball. And why he was a no-brainer (for the 40-man), is he’s gone out and proved that he’s a very good strike thrower, and he has a real weapon in his fastball. He misses a lot of bats, and his performance at the upper levels was just outstanding.”
Dreyer turned 26 on Feb. 27. He had a quick stop at Double-A Tulsa last season before a May promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City where he had a 2.95 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 52 strikeouts to just nine walks in 42 2/3 innings. Dreyer’s 5.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio was the best in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League among relief pitchers.
Now he occupies locker space in Dodger big league camp.
Dreyer has appeared in four games in Cactus League play this spring. He earned the final three outs of Tuesday’s game against the Reds, including two strikeouts.
Now the next big challenge is solving how to break into the big leagues.
There’s family history.
His father, Steve was a pitcher for two seasons with the Texas Rangers in 1993 and 1994. Steve Dreyer came in to relieve the legendary Nolan Ryan in his final game on Sept. 22, 1993.
Dodgers camp stories: Pitcher Jack Dreyer has a knack for solving challenges was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.