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Dodgers Calling Up Top Prospect Josue De Paula in Massive Development

The Dodgers are calling him up from Double-A.
Noah Camras|
Mar 4, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the jersey of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula (95) against Team Mexico during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Mar 4, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the jersey of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula (95) against Team Mexico during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are calling up top prospect Josue De Paula straight from Double-A, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.

He will join the team in Miami on Friday.

It's currently unclear if he'll be replacing Shohei Ohtani, who could be going on the injured list. Either way, he's skipping Triple-A and will make his MLB debut at 21 years old when he gets into a game.

He's the first position player to be called up straight from Double-A in Andrew Friedman's tenure as the Dodgers' president of baseball operations.

Who is Josue De Paula?

De Paula is the Dodgers' No. 1 ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The 6-foot-3 outfielder is among the best hitting prospects in baseball, bringing both elite power and speed.

Across 124 games at Double-A Tulsa this year, he slashed .303/.401/.547 with 27 home runs, 104 RBIs and an OPS of .948. He's added 31 stolen bases and has 81 walks to 87 strikeouts.

De Paula initially signed with the Dodgers as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2022. He signed for $397,500.

He quickly rose through the prospect ranks as LA developed him into one of the game's best young players.

MLB Pipeline calls him the "most advanced young hitter Los Angeles has had since Corey Seager."

Seager, of course, is a two-time World Series MVP.

Where Will Josue De Paula Play?

The one knock on De Paula's game has been his defense. He's working hard to improve as a corner outfielder, notably spending time with five-time Gold Glove award winner Jason Heyward, who's 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 came sooner than likely even he expected.

If Ohtani is going on the injured list — which manager Dave Roberts said was a possibility ahead of Wednesday's game — De Paula would make sense as an everyday designated hitter. If not, he'd seemingly get opportunities in the corner outfield spots.

However, the Dodgers are unlikely calling De Paula up without him having a clear path toward everyday playing time. Thus, the move seems to hint at a potential Ohtani IL stint.

Is Josue De Paula Eligible to Play in the Postseason?

Since he was not on the Dodgers' 40-man roster on Sept. 1, he's technically not eligible to play in the postseason for LA.

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Dodgers on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.

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