Tucked into a corner of Camelback Ranch sits the Dodgers’ minor league quad. It’s nestled away from the chaotic spring training crowds that swarm the backfields of the back-to-back World Series champions.

On most days, you’ll be able to hear fanfare in the distance from the major league game. But on Wednesday afternoon, you’ll be able to hear something else—the roar of fans singing the Mexican national anthem as the country plays an exhibition ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic against the Dodgers, one of the most-followed MLB teams in Mexico.

In the background, Christian Zazaueta, a native of Mexico, will be working out with the rest of the Dodgers’ prospects. He’ll hear the words sung by his fellow countrymen. And though the distance will make it feel like a whisper, the 21-year-old righthander will feel every word pumping through his chest as a reminder of what he wants to be and who he wants to represent.

Zazueta, the No. 12 Dodgers prospect and highest-ranked righty in the system entering 2026, knows there is still plenty of work ahead before achieving that dream.

“It’s all in God’s plan,” Zazueta told Baseball America in Spanish. “I wasn’t invited to play (in the WBC) right now, but my focus right now is to keep improving with the Dodgers. Maybe I’ll be there the next time around. But right now, the most important thing to me is to have a strong 2026 with the Dodgers.”

At the pace the Sonora native is trending, that very well could happen in the next WBC. Zazueta is poised for a potential breakout with the Dodgers this year after a strong 2025 that saw him elevate his prospect status with a 2.41 ERA and 81 strikeouts across 67.1 innings and earn a late-season promotion to High A.

Much of that has to do with a physique that’s improved significantly from when he was first signed out of Mexico by the Yankees in 2022. At the time, he was 19 years old and undersized. He had a fastball that only occasionally scraped the low 90s and an arsenal still very much under construction. Then, a February 2024 trade to the Dodgers sent Zazueta from one of baseball’s most historic franchises to another.

“I wasn’t as mature at the time,” Zazueta said about navigating a cross-country move with the weight of expectation that comes with putting on two of the sport’s most storied uniforms. “I was very timid heading into a new organization and style of play. But it’s like my dad told me, ‘Every change is for the best. There’s a reason the Dodgers traded you. They see potential in you.’”

It turns out, the words of his father, Christian Sr., whose own baseball career in Mexico spanned nearly two decades, rang very much true.

Since joining the Dodgers, Zazueta has added 17 pounds to his now 6-foot-3 frame. That fastball that once barely hit 90 mph touched 98 this past year, and he has added a mid-80s changeup that has proven to be one of his best swing-and-miss offerings.

With added strength, increased maturity and a deepened pitch mix, Zazueta now finds himself knocking on the door of the Dodgers’ top 10 prospects—a testament to how quickly his profile has shifted. The final step is sharpening a dependable third pitch as the missing piece that could transform loud potential into a complete arsenal.

For Zazueta, part of his story is already finished. But the other half is still being written, with the fate of his career resting in his right hand.

Zazueta, who grew up alongside his father’s baseball career after his father had him at 20, experienced the journey internally. He understood the sacrifice before he ever understood the spotlight, carrying not just his own ambition, but the unfinished dream that had shaped his childhood.

Now, he’ll have the chance to build that foundation. With the Dodgers, he understands how much the team is associated with the Mexican fanbase, many of whom make up the working-class people who reside in the Los Angeles metro area and beyond.

For many working-class Mexican families, the Dodgers represent a tradition. Zazueta recognizes that putting on that blue and white uniform means becoming bridge between his heritage and a city that has long embraced it.

“It’s like playing at home,” Zazueta said. “Even in the minors, I’ve seen so much support from a lot of the Mexican fans. It makes being part of this organization even more special.”