The Los Angeles Dodgers just injected some major intrigue into their outfield.
With 16 games left in the season, the reigning champions are calling up prospect Josue De Paula from Double-A Tulsa, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. He will reportedly be with the team at the start of its weekend series against the Miami Marlins on Friday.
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It’s unclear whom De Paula will be replacing, as both of the Dodgers’ corner outfield spot and first base are filled with high-price veteran options. The most significant possibility is that it is to replace Shohei Ohtani at designated hitter, as the Dodgers’ superstar has sat out six of the Dodgers’ last seven games with an ailing knee.
The Dodgers have been hesitant to place Ohtani on the injured list because it would be for 15 days due to his two-player status, leaving him little time to return before the postseason.
MLB Pipeline ranks De Paula as the sixth-best overall prospect in the minor leagues, and the best of the Dodgers’ six top 100 prospects (four of whom are outfielders). He could very well be the best hitting prospect in the minors, with Pipeline calling him “the most advanced young hitter Los Angeles has had since Corey Seager.”
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More, from its scouting report:
De Paula draws comparisons to a slightly smaller but more athletic version of Yordan Alvarez, thanks to his precocious combination of swing decisions and exit velocities. He offered at just 14 percent of pitches outside the strike zone last season — by comparison, Juan Soto led the Majors with a 16 percent rate — and is supremely comfortable working deep counts in order to find pitches he can punish. His sweet left-handed stroke produces hard contact to all fields that should translate into 30 homers per season and perhaps more if he learns to drive balls in the air more consistently.
Let’s be perfectly clear: no one should expect Seager, Yordan Alvarez or Juan Soto here. But it can definitely be said that teams like the Dodgers, stocked with enough talent and resources to win back-to-back World Series, should not be capable of adding a young hitter like this.
De Paula also isn’t without his limitations, as even the corner outfield might be an optimistic projection for his eventual defensive position. That is, of course, moot if he will be playing designated hitter while he’s up.
Josue De Paula’s arrival comes with interesting timing for the Dodgers.
(AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
De Paula, the second cousin of former NBA players Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, grew up in Brooklyn but moved to the Dominican Republic in high school, allowing the Dodgers to sign him on the international free agent market for $397,500 in 2022. He entered this season as a consensus top 25 prospect, but has added to his stock with a campaign that includes a .302/.400/.539 slash line with 26 homers and 31 stolen bases.
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Whatever his status on the Dodgers come October, De Paula will be eligible for the playoffs, as you only have to be part of the organization on Sept. 1 to get postseason at-bats.
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