When the Los Angeles Dodgers were in Cincinnati on the second leg of their most recent road trip, manager Dave Roberts approached Josue De Paula.
"Just wait until we get back to LA," he recalled Roberts telling him. "It's different."
Sure enough, the raucous 48,000 fans -- a light crowd by Dodger Stadium standards -- packed inside Chavez Ravine for his home debut on Friday, Sept. 18 surpassed whatever the rookie's expectations were. Everything, from the environment to the deafening cheers that only seemed to grow louder as the Dodgers slugged their way to an 8-2 win over the hated rival San Francisco Giants, to the air itself, felt different.
"It's like a movie, man," De Paula told USA TODAY Sports.
De Paula, 21, has played his role perfectly through
his first week in the big leagues.
The No. 6 prospect in baseball carries himself with a confidence that's rarely seen in someone as young as him. He's played in only eight games since being called up straight from Double-A Tulsa after Shohei Ohtani was placed on the injured list, or "just thrown into it" as he put it, but De Paula has relied on the skillset that got him here. He controls the strike zone, seeing the ball extremely well and is selective with what pitches he swings at, rarely chasing. That part of his game has transitioned seamlessly.
When De Paula does see a pitch he likes, his calm demeanor at the plate helps him stay centered and keeps him from jumping out ahead of the ball.
"I feel the adrenaline, but I feel like I just know how to pinpoint it and focus it," he said. "I'm so locked in, but I know how to calm myself down."
And when he does make contact, it's loud. So is De Paula.
That was seen in the bottom of the sixth inning on Friday. De Paula walked up to "Ima Boss" by Meek Mill (his third different walk-up song of the night by the way, this one was chosen by his mom). The triumphant horns on the 2011 anthem produced by Jahlil Beats had barely subsided over the loudspeakers when De Paula slapped a first-pitch slider from Giants reliever Jason Foley 107 mph into the gap in the right field for an RBI double that scored the go-ahead run from first.
Once he got to second base standing up, De Paula threw his hands in the air and hit the Dodgers' on-base celebration, swiveling his hips around before putting his own twist on it: pounding his chest and flexing toward his teammates in the dugout.
"He loves playing the game," Mookie Betts said. "He's full of life. When he gets on the field, it's like a quiet focus, but when he's off the field he likes joking ... and whatnot. He's a good kid."
Go ahead, Josue. 😤 pic.twitter.com/KCKOB2SSwU
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2026
Where does that unflappable joy come from?
"We got some swag in Brooklyn. We got some swag in the Dominican Republic. I just feel like I got a chip on my shoulder," De Paula said. "And it just comes out naturally."
That came out again in the bottom of the eighth when Giants closer threw a first-pitch fastball up that was called a strike by umpire Louie Krupa. De Paula immediately tapped his helmet to challenge, and ABS showed the ball had missed the top of the zone 0.1 inches. The Dodger Stadium crowd got fired up as they watched the replay unfold on the jumbotron and the call was overturned to ball one, and De Paula nodded his head toward his teammates before working a two-out walk on four pitches.
Betts homered in the very next at-bat to break open a five-run lead. Will Smith then followed that up with the Dodgers' fourth long ball of the inning.
MOOKIE AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/UUktWJHi6L
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2026
"Love De Paula," Roberts said. "I just love his at-bats. It's one of those things that we knew that coming up to the big leagues, he wasn't going to get overwhelmed, and it just helps when you control the strike zone. He takes his walks, when the ball is in the hitting zone, he can slug you, but he also knows how to get a base hit. It's been very professional."
De Paula finished his Dodger Stadium debut 2-for-3 with two runs, and RBI and a walk to bring his OPS up to .924. It's been a very small sample size, and baseball has a way of humbling even the most skilled hitters. It is, after all, a game of failure. But what he has been able to do in his first "trial run", filling in for the back-to-back National League MVP no less, might be indicative of something larger.
At the very least, he's played himself into the postseason roster conversation.
"To have (Roberts) believe in me so much," De Paula said. "I always have confidence in myself but to have someone like that believe in you, it just puts another oomph on your shoulder. It feels amazing."
For now, De Paula's just working. The weakest area of his game is his defense, and while the vast majority of this first stint in the majors will be as a designated hitter, he's using the opportunity get better. De Paula's taking advice from Roberts and the entire coaching staff. He's asking his teammates questions. He's shagging fly balls every day.
"I'm gonna shut a lot of people up with my defense very soon," he said. "It's gonna take some time."
That opportunity likely won't come for a while; Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker are both getting hot and settling into their rhythms in the corner outfield spots in the final two weeks of the regular season. If De Paula does make the postseason roster after Ohtani comes back, it would probably be as a lefty bat off the bench.
Whatever happens over the next two weeks before October, De Paula's focused on the now, enjoying every moment he can. He got the ball back from his first Dodger stadium hit – a leadoff single to right field in the fifth inning – and he knows exactly where to put it.
"I'm gonna give it to my parents," De Paula said. "I might give it to them right now."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘It’s like a movie:' Josue De Paula embraces spotlight in Los Angeles
