What to expect from the Dodgers calling up No. 1 prospect Josue De Paula

Bruce Kuntz 09/10/2026 Prospect News Leave A Comment

(Via @josuejr_24)

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 24 hours, the massive news on the Dodgers front is that they are calling up their #1 prospect Josue De Paula, according to multiple reports (ESPN’s Alden González was on it first).

The 21-year-old outfielder has spent all of 2026 with Double-A Tulsa, where he has enjoyed a breakout season. He was ranked No. 1 on my midseason Dodgers prospects list, which also includes my full De Paula scouting report and tool grades. He is currently ranked as the No. 6 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.

Here what to expect from him in his MLB debut, a look at the motivations that made him the choice, and the maneuvering that got us to this point.

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Across 124 games this year, De Paula has slashed .303/.401/.547 with 37 doubles, 27 home runs and 104 runs batted in. He has walked nearly as much as he’s struck out, posting a 14% walk rate and 15% strikeout rate, while making strides in translating his raw power into game action. The corner outfielder has also stolen 31 bases.

Despite being nearly three years younger than the average Texas Leaguer, De Paula has posted a 90% in-zone contact rate, honing his approach even further this year to balance in-zone aggressiveness with his quality plate discipline. He’s kept the ball off the ground better, lending more pull-side power alongside his continued physical development.

Signed in the international amateur class of 2022, De Paula started a bit off the radar before quickly rising to notoriety that summer. He’s found success at every step of the minor league ladder since, posting a career .857 OPS and consistently flexing a rare blend of excellent contact skills, an advanced approach and a strong physical presence.

Although he was signed out of out of the Dominican Republic, De Paula was born in Brooklyn before moving in high school and pursuing the international free agency route. The Dodgers had him skip the Arizona Complex League when he moved stateside in 2023 and he’s moved roughly one level per year since. The organization is going against its own track record to bring the 21-year-old up straight from Double-A, clearly showing faith in his progress on and off the field.

De Paula will have a serious challenge ahead of him, not only in stepping into Shohei Ohtani‘s roster spot as the two-time reigning MVP hits the injured list, but also in leap-frogging Triple-A in an era where the gap between the majors and minors is the largest it’s ever been. Additionally, Double-A uses a different (and, this year, much more offense-favored) baseball than MLB and Triple-A, so De Paula has never hit with the actual MLB ball outside of limited samples like Spring Training games. Still, the damage he’s been doing in AA certainly hasn’t looked environment dependent.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated after Wednesday’s game that De Paula will fill in for Ohtani directly as the designated hitter, at least in his MLB debut game on Friday. It will be worth watching closely how the Dodgers choose to deploy De Paula, either exclusively at DH or with some outfield mixed in. If they want to give De Paula a shot at a starting role in the postseason (assuming Ohtani will be back by then to DH), it would have to come in the corner outfield.

While his development as a hitter has been more linear and positive, De Paula has left something to be desired with his defensive work in the minor leagues. He projects as only a 40-grade defender in the future, with his current grade coming in around 20-30 depending on who you ask. I had him at a 25 current defensive grade on the midseason Dodgers list.

The Dodgers sent Jason Heyward to Tulsa a few weeks back to work with De Paula on his outfield defense, potentially looking to expedite his development on that side of the ball for a promotion like this. Still, when rosters expanded on September 1, De Paula remained in Double-A. Whether the main change to spur this move was Ohtani’s injury status and the opening of the DH spot, or if the Dodgers simply decided now was the best time to deploy their top in-house option into a playoff starter trajectory, may be revealed based on how he is used in the coming weeks.

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Aside from the obvious determination of whether their top prospect was ready to compete in the majors or not, the Dodgers have also had to consider a few factors with the upcoming lockout and De Paula’s 40-man roster situation. He would have been Rule 5 Draft eligible this offseason, but that draft is not scheduled to happen until after the lockout is set to begin on December 1.

The 40-man roster deadline to protect prospects from the draft is normally set in mid-November, but depending on logistical details with the lockout, the Dodgers may not have had to add De Paula then if the Rule 5 Draft date was changed based on the lockout beginning before the winter meetings. It is tough to say with any certainty due to the complications of the lockout if the Dodgers could have found a way to keep De Paula off the 40-man despite his expiring Rule 5 timeline.

There are two main motivations the Dodgers would have had to try and keep De Paula off the 40-man before the lockout began. First, all 40-man rostered players are not allowed any contact with their team during the entirety of a lockout, while minor leaguers are still able to work directly with their clubs. Additionally, there is danger for clubs of 40-man roster players accruing service time despite no play if a lockout extends for a full season.

All of that is irrelevant now with De Paula being rostered before the offseason, but it could partially explain why the Dodgers waited this long. This is the kind of move they would only make if they felt their hand was forced by something like Ohtani’s injury situation or dire roster underperformance. It could also be part of the calculation for why it is De Paula coming up and not James Tibbs III, who is not Rule 5 eligible until 2027 and now can be safely stashed away for however long a lockout could extend.

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Saying this move is aggressive by Dodgers promotion standards would be an understatement, and it is in fact the first position player promotion from AA to the majors under Andrew Friedman. Even with Roberts stating that De Paula will be getting a lot of playing time at DH, I would be surprised if they don’t give him a look in the outfield as well. The Dodgers have been forced to consider internal options over the last month as their offense has stalled in the second half of the season.

Even with Teoscar Hernández‘s big homestand and Kyle Tucker‘s three-hit performance to close out the Reds series, the larger sample size has seen the Dodgers’ corner outfield production fall among the worst in baseball, both offensively and defensively. Tucker has particularly struggled lately, slashing .157/.263/.294 over his last 30 games. If De Paula hits, it would be hard for the Dodgers not to see how his defense looks before the postseason, especially considering that Hernández and Tucker have failed to set a high defensive standard themselves with -5 and -9 OAA respectively.

It’s a big ask, but De Paula could be the injection of young talent the Dodgers lineup has desperately needed. With injuries stacking up, LA’s normally cautious front office is swinging big with three weeks remaining before their postseason pursuit for a three-peat. Worth a shot, right?

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Long Beach State journalism student in my fifth year of covering the Dodgers and their farm system.
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