Josue De Paula goes hitless in MLB debut

We don’t want to jump the gun, but it sure looks like DePaula is going to be on the Dodgers’ postseason roster, even if he’s not a starter following Shohei Ohtani’s return. He’s at .238/.448/.476 with a ludicrous 2/8 K/BB through 29 plate appearances.

De Paula takes a seat with veteran Teoscar Hernández at DH and Kyle Tucker in right field to face Cincinnati southpaw Andrew Abbott. The 21-year-old phenom went 0-for-5 out of the leadoff spot on Tuesday and is hitting just .143 (2-for-14) with one homer, three RBI and one steal in five games since being promoted from Double-A Tulsa last week. The fact that he’s hitting some initial turbulence isn’t a surprise at all considering his relative inexperience while facing big-league arms for the first time. He has an extremely bright future ahead of him as an all-around fantasy contributor. The big question is whether he’ll have a spot with Los Angeles once Shohei Ohtani (biceps, knee) is ready to return from the injured list next week.

Tommy Edman has been leading off in Shohei Ohtani’s place, but he’s down to seventh against a righty tonight. De Paula hadn’t hit higher than sixth in his previous four starts since being called up. He’s only 2-for-14 to date, but those two hits are a homer and a double, and he’s drawn five walks while having yet to strike out.

Nick Lodolo is on the mound for the Reds, so De Paula moves down to ninth in the order, but it’s nice to see that he will remain in the lineup, even against lefties. He hit .267 off lefties in Double-A, but had just eight extra-base hits all season, so we’ll watch closely to see how he handles Major League lefties.

And what a way to do it, as the top prospect slugger crushed a pitch from Eury Pérez into the second deck in right field. The moonshot traveled an estimated 416 feet, with an exit velocity of 108.2 mph. The 21-year-old also doubled in the sixth inning. The display of raw power on the home run was impressive — and tantalizing for fantasy managers — as we look to the home stretch and beyond, but he’s also worked four walks to start his brief MLB career. We’d expect the usual ups-and-downs for a rookie hitter, but his potential is off the charts.

Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts noted that it’s just a routine day of rest, as the team didn’t want the 33-year-old outfielder to play in three straight games on the turf in Miami. Josue De Paula will start in his place in left field and bat sixth for the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon.

It may be unrealistic to expect De Paula to blossom into an immediate fantasy superstar, but he’s that caliber of special talent as a hitter. The 21-year-old prodigy went 0-for-3 with a walk during his major-league debut on Friday night. He has a roughly two-week runway to show the Dodgers what he can do while Shohei Ohtani is on the injured list with knee and biceps issues. He does a phenomenal job of controlling the strike zone, makes a ton of contact and possesses elite raw power. Simply put, he checks almost every metaphorical box as a hitting prospect. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy leagues based solely on his immense talent.

The 21-year-old phenom will make his MLB debut in Miami on Friday night where he’ll serve as the Dodgers’ designated hitter against the Marlins. De Paula has hit a blistering .303/.401/.547 with 27 homers and 31 stolen bases at Double-A Tulsa this season and has yet to play at the Triple-A level. He’s expected to play in all three games against the Marlins over the weekend.

Teoscar Hernández’s turnaround seemed to lessen the chances of a De Paula promotion, but maybe it’s Shohei Ohtani’s condition that has opened things back up. The 21-year-old De Paula has hit .303/.401/.547 with 27 homers and 31 steals in Double-A this year. He’s yet to play in Triple-A. The Dodgers will likely give him starts against right-handers in an effort to see if he can be useful in October.

Thomas isn’t the most exciting option from a pure fantasy perspective, but he makes the most sense as a short-term stopgap for the Dodgers with Andy Pages set to miss 4-5 weeks with a fractured hand. The 26-year-old defensive specialist is an excellent defender in center field and is already on the 40-man roster. He’ll split time with Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández for the next couple weeks. There’s a chance that a top prospect like Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota or James Tibbs III get a look once rosters expand, but that seems unlikely at this juncture.