Josue De Paula has done just about everything the Dodgers could ask of a young hitter over the last few weeks, and now his name is hanging around a bigger question: does he squeeze onto the postseason roster?
The 21-year-old rookie gave Los Angeles a strong September look when Shohei Ohtani was sidelined on the injured list. Promoted straight from Double-A, De Paula hit .323/.500/.581 in 11 games, drove in seven runs and did it with only 10 hits.
Once Ohtani came off the injured list on Sept. 23, De Paula was sent back to the minors. But the season kept rolling for him in Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he was added for the Comets’ playoff push.
He kept producing there, too. In his first two games, De Paula reached base four times and scored twice as Oklahoma City knocked off the Las Vegas Aviators to clinch the Pacific Coast League championship. He then scored the go-ahead run in the Comets’ 5-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings in Saturday’s Triple-A championship game.
Dodgers vice president of player development Will Rhymes was on hand for that one, and he came away impressed by the stretch De Paula has put together.
"I saw [De Paula on Saturday] and said, man, all you've been doing the last couple weeks is celebrating, and you know popping champagne with the big club and then here," Rhymes said during MLB Network's broadcast of the game. "So he's had a pretty fun couple weeks.
But we're so proud of him. Our whole [player development] group has been really invested in that, and watching him succeed has been rewarding."
The postseason path isn’t simple. Only 26 players can be on the Dodgers’ roster for each round, and the roster can be reset after every round. That leaves room for De Paula to get involved later even if he isn’t active for Saturday’s National League Division Series.
The complication is the fit. The Dodgers already have two left-handed bats who can’t play the field in Ohtani and Dalton Rushing, who is trying to play through an elbow injury. De Paula is a corner outfielder, and the club would prefer him as a left-handed option off the bench.
Rhymes, though, made clear why De Paula keeps forcing the conversation.
"He's so calm in the box," Rhymes said. "He's really confident.
We always, since he was in our Dominican academy, said he just sees the ball earlier than anyone. He really does.
It's sort of innate. He takes a lot of pride in that aspect of hitting."
Whether that pushes him onto the Dodgers’ NLDS roster is still to be determined.
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