LOS ANGELES — As expected, Josue De Paula is on the Los Angeles Dodgers' 26-man roster for the NLDS. The rookie sensation who made the most of his September opportunities will now get a chance to show what he can do in October.
It won't be in quite the same role, since Shohei Ohtani is back as a full-time DH for the postseason. De Paula will be a lefty bat off the bench, as had been alluded to, since the 21-year-old impressed manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman enough to insert himself into the postseason conversation after just two weeks in the big leagues. De Paula's impact -- 10 hits with seven RBIs and 11 walks vs. just five strikeouts in 11 games -- made his case speak for itself.
"What we saw was a really
good idea of the strike zone, quality of contact," Roberts said. "He's really unflappable, good heartbeat and I think that translates into the postseason."
De Paula was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City after Ohtani was activated from the IL on Sept. 23, but Roberts had already seen enough by then. The Dodgers skipper used the final five games of the regular season to give run to other players trying to make the playoff roster, such as Dalton Rushing, who was directly competing with De Paula for the left-handed bench bat role.
Ultimately, though, Rushing's right UCL injury in his elbow that limited him to just eight at-bats over the last two months of the regular season "put him behind the eight-ball," according to Roberts. That cleared the way for the Dodgers' co-Minor League player of the year.
Josue De Paula impact for Dodgers vs Braves
De Paula's calling card, aside from the power he flashed with a career-high 27 home runs with Double-A Tulsa this season, has been his unreal plate discipline. In a small sample size, he showed shades of Juan Soto -- one of his mentors -- with his confidence at the plate, working deep into counts and rarely chasing outside the zone.
And when he does see a pitch he likes, De Paula's poise in the batter's box keeps him from jumping out at the ball, a trait rarely seen in players his age.
"I feel the adrenaline, but I feel like I just know how to pinpoint it and focus it," De Paula said after his Dodger Stadium debut on Sept. 18. "I'm so locked in, but I know how to calm myself down."
His defense is still a work in progress, so he very likely won't get any run in either of the corner outfield spots this postseason. His impact this October, per Friedman, will be as a "bullet off the bench in big situations."
That sentence alone speaks volumes about how much trust the Dodgers have in their top-ranked prospect.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to expect from Josue De Paula, the Dodgers' 'bullet off the bench'
