by Megan Garcia
The Dodgers selected two college players -, who happen to be teammates at the University of Arkansas , as their first two picks in the 2025 Major League Baseball draft.
Zach Root, a left-handed pitcher with a four-pitch mix, was taken as the 40th overall pick on Sunday. Charles Davalan, a leadoff-hitting outfielder, was selected as the 41st overall pick in the draft.
The Dodgers had four selections on Sunday in Atlanta. They also selected right-handed pitcher Cam Leiter (Florida State) as the 65th pick and outfielder Landyn Vidourek (University of Cincinnati) as the 104th pick.
Root possesses two 60-grade pitches in his curveball and cutter, as graded by MLB.com’s 20–80 scouting scale. The 21-year-old ranked fifth in NCAA Division 1 baseball with 126 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings pitched. His fastball has topped out at 97 mph, but averages 91–94 mph.
“We thought Zach was one of the best left-handed pitchers in the draft, with an ability to execute pitches, play the front/back game and really just compete,” said Billy Gasparino, Dodger vice president of baseball operations. “He has a very old-school throwback delivery. He’s someone our scouting staff was all over, and we’re excited to have him.”
Root grew up a Dodger fan, and his father instructed him to watch Clayton Kershaw any time the left-hander took the mound to learn from him. Now, he’s in the same organization as Kershaw.
MLB.com projected Root to be selected as the 42nd overall pick.
“I’m able to throw multiple pitches into the zone and any count and that’s a big part of keeping hitters off balance, not falling into patterns where the hitter can guess what’s coming,” Root said of his approach on the mound. “Working to throw multiple pitches in the zone in any count is the kind of pitcher I am to keep the hitter off guard and really be tough to hit against.”
Davalan’s standout skill is his hitting, which earned a 60 grade on the scouting scale. The 21-year-old rarely chases or whiffs at the plate. At 5-foot-9, Davalan has shown power to both sides of the field after he incorporated a toe-tap into his swing. The adjustment has allowed him to hit more pitches and better time his swing against pitching velocity.
Baseball was Davalan’s primary sport growing up in Montreal, Canada. However, the weather and the COVID-19 restrictions didn’t allow Davalan to develop as a player. So, he and his family moved to Florida in 2023 to gain more opportunities.
“We couldn’t travel. I always wanted to get recruited to go play college. So we decided to go live in Florida, where there were no restrictions and you could play (baseball) 12 months out of the year,” Davalan said. “(I) went there my junior spring (semester) and then my senior year of high school. Then, I got recruited to Florida Gulf Coast University.”
It was his only offer at the Division I level. He had a .288 batting average with 10 home runs in 56 games for FCU. He transferred to the University of Arkansas in 2024 for his sophomore season, where he had a .346 batting average with 14 homers and 60 runs batted in.
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Leiter, the Dodgers’ second-round pick, comes from an MLB pedigree. He’s the nephew of former MLB pitchers Al Leiter and Mark Leiter. His cousin is Yankees reliever Mark Leiter Jr.
The 21-year-old Leiter has a 65-grade fastball and a 60-grade curveball and stands at 6-foot-5. He missed the 2024–25 season due to right shoulder issues.
Vidourek was the final Dodger pick of the day. He finished his third season at the University of Cincinnati with a .304 batting average and 14 homers in 52 games. The outfielder showed his aggressive base running during the 2025 season with 39 stolen bases, which led the Big 12.
The second day of the draft will be Monday in Atlanta. The Dodgers have 16 selections between the fourth and 20th rounds.
Dodgers select college standouts in first day of the 2025 MLB draft was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.