Jason Heyward retired after 16 years in the big leagues earlier this year, and the Los Angeles Dodgers brought him on as a special assistant in the spring.
Josue De Paula, the Dodgers' top prospect, is an outfielder with growing buzz. The Dodgers saw Heyward's perspective as a former top-prospect outfielder as very valuable and had him shadow De Paula, per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.
“He’s done a lot to earn the attention he’s getting now,” Heyward told The Athletic. “It’s also one of those things where you see guys sometimes not realize that, ‘Hey, you’re very close. You’re closer than you think to that next level and have an opportunity to start your career.'”
De Paula is the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball and has been dominant in Double-A this year. Some are even suggesting the Dodgers have him skip Triple-A and be called up for September. De Paula is slashing .307/.402/.553 with 26 homers this season. He also has 74 walks. He has huge offensive upside, and Heyward is impressed by what he has seen.
“It’s definitely something that’s fun to watch,” Heyward said. “It’s much easier said than done, what he’s able to do in the box, maintain his tempo. He goes at the pace he would like to go at, and that allows him to make good decisions, whether it’s chasing very rarely and on pitches that are in the zone, getting the kind of swing off that he wants to get off. That’s the name of the game.”
For as good as he is at the plate, he has work to do defensively. He has a 50-grade arm and a 40-grade fielding tool. Who better than Heyward to have in his ear to improve on defense? He is a five-time Gold Glover. Heyward noted that he thinks it's important to work on De Paula's intent and preparation.
“I think it’s just more about making him aware of what it looks like, what it feels like,” Heyward said. “Give him something else to go off of. Because it’s one thing for anyone to hear, ‘Hey, this should look like this’ or ‘This is what’s been asked of you.’ I think it’s more of what we can do to show him and allow him to feel like this is what this rep looks like. … This is how this is going to feel. This is how your routine is going to feel.
“The same way you do when you get in the box, and you go prepare for a day, these are parts of your day you’re gonna value over time.”
De Paula has some more work to do before he is a finished product, but Heyward thinks he has the makings of a future star for the Dodgers.