Ryan Falla
The Dodgers always seem to be the ones for playing the game ahead of the curve. As of late we’ve seen the organization flip undrafted college free agents into legitimate Top 30 prospects and the streak looks to have no ending soon. 2023 saw the breakout of prospect Lucas Wepf, a righty reliever who came into the organization off a 6 ERA college season before a few Dodger tweaks sent him atop the Cal League with a 15.9 K/9 across 33.1 IP. Fortunes appear to fall towards the same favor this upcoming season with the Dodgers signing of undrafted Utah starter Cam Day, an under-the-radar talent who made his name with his long game durability and blossoming strikeout ability through his college days.
Background
Day comes into the organization as an early eligibility free agent after attracting LA brass with a breakthrough sophomore season in 2023. His 2022 season set the stage with the young righty leading the PAC-12 in innings pitched (62.1 IP) amongst freshman pitchers. He continued these trends in 2023 with a 54.2 IP sophomore year through which Day collected 55 Ks while maintaining a 0.7 HR/9 rate. Of the 17 games he appeared in that year, 11 came as starts with Day regularly showcasing a natural durability by notching multiple 90+ pitch outings. His habit of absorbing heavy work put him on the map with Utah and will likely do the same with the Dodgers as he establishes his reputation through this critical debut season.
“I was early eligibility because of my age. I was gonna go play at a different college but the Dodgers came in with a decent offer. It felt like the right thing to do with how they develop players. I was ready to get into pro ball and take the next step.”
Cam Day Debut
Cam Days’ professional debut showed an immediate acumen for professional game speed with a 3.2 IP outing that saw six strikeouts on zero walks. Of the 64 pitches he threw in his relief appearance 11 came as Swinging Strikes with the majority of his contact outs coming as ground balls. Day’s fastball generally sits around 93-94, though he can top out at 99mph. He features a cutter that plays up against lefties with a curve/change secondary that adeptly backs up his initial offerings as well as a slider he can throw for swinging strikes.
His presence as a guy who can eat innings as a long reliever or go for broke with quality starts is something that will prove itself as an incredible asset going forward. This is often the type of arm that can put a pitching staff on his back through the dog days with his ability to soak up quality bulk work wherever needed. Though the Dodgers may look to employ him as a long reliever early on I wouldn’t be surprised to see another breakout in a long line of Cam Day breakouts to once again put him on the map.
“Pounding the zone with the fastball and having a slider to back it up was big for me [in Low A debut]. I have other pitches I can go to but those two being in the zone was what was working for me. The different climate is helping the sinker move a little more and do what I wanted to. But sticking to the game plan and attacking hitters was the big thing. ”
Pitching Profile
Days’ profile as a big mileage pitcher has become somewhat of a lost art in the modern baseball climate. Seasons past have seen a Dodgers big league team hurt by its lack of inning-eating starters throughout the long 162-game season. The current MLB norm of maximizing stuff over longevity has begun to rear its unsustainability as we regularly see the health of starting fives across the league fall due to injury. Cam Day presents a much-needed mix of both worlds as his ability to handle heavy outings with a repertoire that holds up as the miles run deep will allow him to support a rotation as a quality bulk-eater.
Sometimes the biggest development need a guy can have is learning how to stretch his stuff, and with Day already firmly adept in such regards there will likely be a shorter-than-normal learning curve towards a potential Top 30 prospect status. If there is any organization you can expect a developing prospect to make these levels of leaps and bounds with it’s the Dodgers, and if there is any prospect you could expect to make these strides it’s Day. The sky truly is the limit here, and as long as Day continues to show an acumen for handling his stuff on the mound and positively navigating at-bats there is little doubt Day will find great success this coming season, and the seasons beyond.
