Luis Gamez 7/18/26

The Dodgers have another emerging PD success in Mexican righty Luis Gamez whose slider now now falls off the table with RPMs in the 2800-2900 range and late two-plane break. He has been dominant in his last four appearances with 17 IP and 34 K. The numbers aren’t a fluke; it’s a real improvement that could move him up prospect lists.

Gamez is a low slot sinker/slider guy who works east/west and mostly lives in the lower half of the strike zone. He gets a combination of swing and miss and weak contact that should help him turn over lineups multiple times.

The slider is the real story here. Gamez uses it induce chase below the zone but also has an uncanny ability to clip the edge of the zone down and away from RHH. It’s a cohesive mix - the slider, sinker and cutter play well off one another. He gets a ton of horizontal separation and makes hitters defend the whole plate east/west. At times, it also seems like he’s just throwing the sinker (92-96) over and just trusting its heavy movement. The high 80s cutter operates as a get-ahead pitch early in counts – Gamez locates it well and has shown ability to front door it back over the plate to RHH, it’s a reliable in-zone offering. He has a CHG as well, but it is a work in progress at present, often hooked glove side and rendered ineffective.

Gamez is a well-coordinated, athletic mover. He creates a lot of hip to shoulder separation and has a loose arm. There are aspects to his mechanics, however, that are not ideal. He strides open with hips rotating early, which can result in glove side yanks. The strike throwing ability still works overall, and his stuff dances enough that being surgical in the zone may not be necessary. I was surprised he gets 6 feet 7" of extension, he gets down the mound well and has some forward trunk tilt.

Gamez isn’t a big kid; he’s listed at 5’11” 181. Medium density fill for his height, he’s well proportioned, short but not weak. His durability and ability to log innings are questions he will need to answer to remain a starter long term. I am also keeping an eye on his righty/lefty splits, because he has a .442 OPS vs RHH and .846 OPS vs LHH on the year. How the CHG develops and whether it can be a good swing and miss offering vs LHH will be a big variable for him.