Before the season started, Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Josue De Paula was the No. 15 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and had only reached Double-A.
Now, he is the No. 6 prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list and is on his way to the big leagues. The Dodgers have never called up a position player directly from Double-A under Andrew Friedman, so they must really trust that he can handle big-league pitching without ever seeing a pitch at even the Triple-A level.
De Paula's call-up may come as a shock to many, but not him. Back in February, he thought it was "highly likely" he would make his debut this year.
"I think it’s highly likely,” De Paula said to the New York Post's Dylan Hernandez in February. “I just gotta have fun on the field, do my thing and the rest will take care of itself.”
Well, he let his play do the talking this year. He has a .303/.401/.547 slash line in Double-A, with 27 home runs and 31 stolen bases. He has been very good with runners in scoring position and has drawn 81 walks. He has been working to improve his glove, but for now, the Dodgers will give him most of his work as a designated hitter.
De Paula is one of the best prospects in the game, and he will now have a chance to show the league why he was so confident in himself last spring.