The Dodgers are making a big move with one of the best young hitters in their system, calling up top prospect Josue De Paula from Double-A, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
De Paula is expected to be with the club on Friday for the start of a weekend series in Miami. He’s skipping Triple-A entirely, and when he appears in a game, the 21-year-old will be making his major league debut.
There’s still some uncertainty around the roster shuffle that opened the door. It’s not clear whether De Paula is coming up to take Shohei Ohtani’s spot, with Ohtani potentially headed to the injured list. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Wednesday’s game that an IL stint for Ohtani was possible, and the timing makes De Paula look like more than just a temporary add.
MLB Pipeline ranks De Paula as the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect, and the 6-foot-3 outfielder has built that status with a loud offensive season at Double-A Tulsa. In 124 games, he hit .303/.401/.547 with 27 home runs, 104 RBIs and a .948 OPS. He also swiped 31 bases, drew 81 walks and struck out 87 times.
The Dodgers signed De Paula as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2022 for $397,500, and he moved quickly through the system after that. MLB Pipeline has described him as the “most advanced young hitter Los Angeles has had since Corey Seager.”
The questions around De Paula have centered on his defense, especially as a corner outfielder. He’s been working on that part of his game, including time with five-time Gold Glove winner Jason Heyward, who is now in the Dodgers front office.
“A lot of the conversations for us, to [De Paula] as an organization, are, ‘Hey, you’ve earned these things. You’ve earned the attention.
You’ve earned the hype, so to speak,’” Heyward recently said to The Athletic. “But we want to show him the things that are going to help along the way.
Next thing you know, you get a call.”
That call arrived faster than expected, and if Ohtani does land on the injured list, De Paula could slide right into an everyday designated hitter role. If not, the Dodgers would likely look to use him in the corner outfield.
One important wrinkle remains: because De Paula was not on the Dodgers’ active roster on Sept. 1, he is not eligible to play in the postseason for Los Angeles.
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