Josue De Paula arrives in the Dodgers’ system carrying the kind of prospect buzz that doesn’t happen by accident. In updated rankings this summer, the outfielder checked in third at Baseball Prospectus, fourth at Baseball America, sixth at MLB Pipeline, 10th at ESPN and 18th at The Athletic.
That attention is backed by a loud 2026 season. At 21 years old in Double-A Tulsa, De Paula hit .303/.401/.547 with a 145 wRC+, turning in the breakout people had been waiting for. He also piled up 37 doubles and 27 home runs, both more than double his previous career highs, while trimming his strikeout rate to 14.8 percent, a new low at his highest level yet.
The offensive profile is what keeps drawing evaluators in. J.J.
Cooper of Baseball America compared De Paula to Detroit Tigers shortstop and third baseman Kevin McGonigle, who has produced a 126 wRC+ as a rookie. Cooper pointed to the rest of the package too:
Dig a bit deeper and it gets even better. De Paula’s in-zone miss rate this year is just under 9%.
His overall miss rate is 15%. He has an above-average 22% chase rate, and well above-average 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity.
You very rarely see that kind of well-rounded profile combining extreme contact ability, excellent plate discipline and real power.
MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis echoed that view, noting that De Paula unlocked more pop in 2026 by letting his left-handed swing play more freely. Callis wrote that De Paula’s chase rate climbed to 22 percent from 14 percent a year ago, but still remained excellent for his age and level.
He also said De Paula swung and missed only 15 percent of the time, including just 10 percent against strikes, while posting 90th percentile exit velocities at 104 mph and a max of 111 mph. Callis added that the Major League numbers this year make the profile look like a mix of Kevin McGonigle’s bat-to-ball skills and Sal Stewart’s damage.
Baseball Prospectus’ Jeffrey Paternostro went even further on the bat, calling De Paula the best offensive prospect in the minors. The reason he stops short of putting him No. 1 overall is the defensive question.
Paternostro wrote that De Paula has moved from stretched in center to stretched in a corner to probably a first baseman as his body has filled out, and said the uncertainty around first base and the possibility of a DH-only future keeps the ceiling from being fully clear. He added that being a primary DH at an elite level is a very high bar unless a hitter reaches something like Yordan Alvarez territory.
Bruce Kuntz at Dodgers Digest also analyzed the call-up.
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