The Los Angeles Dodgers called Josue De Paula up from Double-A earlier this month, and he has been making headlines with his bat early on.
It was the first time under Andrew Friedman that the Dodgers called a position player up directly from Double-A. De Paula's defense is not great, but Shohei Ohtani being injured has allowed him to serve as the designated hitter.
In 10 games, he is slashing .286/.474/.500 with half of his hits going for extra bases. His bat and eye at the plate have been as advertised. He is the Dodgers' top prospect and the No. 6 prospect in baseball. He won't be eligible for the postseason since he was not on the 40-man roster by Sept. 1, but his future for the Dodgers looks bright,
He is bound to slump at some point, but his early success means even if he is in Triple-A to start the season next year, it won't be long for him to be back with the big league club. However, Ohtani will be back, and De Paula will need a spot in the outfield. Unfortunately for Teoscar Hernández, he is the most likely to lose his job to De Paula.
Hernández has one year left on his contract, and his OPS has taken a big dive after his All-Star season in 2024. De Paula has shined with the bat and is working hard to improve his defense. If he can do that, he should take Hernández's spot.
What would that mean for Hernández? Well, it's not really the Dodgers' style to trade away their own stars, but De Paula needs to play. Hernández is about to be 34, and he still has trade value. He is not a great defender, so if De Paula is going to replace one of the Dodgers' starting outfielders, it's going to be the one who also isn't great defensively and is old. Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages are not going anywhere.
It's unclear what the Dodgers will do with De Paula next year. They've seen that his bat is ready for the big leagues, but may still want him to get some Triple-A work before making him an every day player in the big leagues. Eventually, he will start to slump in the Majors, like every young hitter, and will have to make adjustments. Regardless, his early success is a threat to Hernández's future with the team.