MIAMI — Dodgers top prospect Josue De Paula wasn’t going to be overwhelmed by the moment. Manager Dave Roberts was quite sure of that.
“I think he’s gonna swing at strikes, take balls, put together good at-bats,” Roberts said before De Paula’s major-league debut Friday.
Sure enough, when De Paula stepped into the batter’s box at Loan Depot Park, he wasn’t tempted to swing at the first-pitch curveball that dipped below the zone. He didn’t bite on the slider that missed high and outside.
He forced Marlins starter Ryan Gusto to throw into the zone. And after De Paula had worked a full count, swinging at a pair of fastballs and fouling off the second, he sent a slider to right field.
Though it was a flyout, the moment was momentous: De Paula had completed his first major-league at-bat.
“I always had it in the back of my mind it could happen,” De Paula said of making his major-league debut this year. “But I never tried to think too much about it. But when it did happen, I wasn’t really thinking about it because we really only had about four days left before the [double-A] season ends. So I was just thinking — four days, playoffs and then go home.”
Instead, the Dodgers officially selected De Paula’s contract from double-A Tulsa before their 6-2 win against the Marlins on Friday, and put Shohei Ohtani on the 15-day injured list. To clear room on the 40-man roster, they transferred left-hander Eric Lauer from the 15-day IL to the 60-day.
The Dodgers (90-57) don’t have a more specific diagnosis for Ohtani’s right biceps injury, Roberts said. The team simply listed it as inflammation in the transaction log. And that lack of clarity makes it difficult to map out his ramp-up at this stage.
“We’re really going off of how he feels,” Roberts said. “And I think there’s a good amount of communication going on, which led us to the IL, given how he’s felt. And then going forward, take a few days [off] from swinging the bat, and then let’s sort of reevaluate in the coming days and see what works.”
In the meantime, De Paula will get a chance to show what he can do with his bat. Roberts said he envisioned the rookie serving as the DH for all three games against the Marlins (72-76).
De Paula estimated that a group of about 15 people, including his parents, attended his debut Friday.
They were treated to a dominant start from Blake Snell, who hasn’t given up more than one run in any of his seven starts since returning from surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow. He held the Marlins to one run and four hits in 5⅔ innings.
Kyle Tucker powered the Dodgers’ offense, coming a double shy of the cycle, while recording five RBIs. He drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Then he tripled in the sixth and scored on a single by Will Smith. He topped it off with a grand slam in the seventh.
De Paula batted No. 7 and worked full counts in his first two at-bats. He drew a walk in the second.
De Paula gave a glimpse of his baserunning ability — he had 31 stolen bases in double-A this season — as he raced to second and touched the base with his hand before the tag came down. But his hand came off as he slid past the bag, and after a replay review, he was called out. He’s still seeking his first major-league hit, but he proved the Dodgers’ confidence in his ability to conduct a major-league at-bat was well placed.
De Paula, 21, has been pushing for a promotion with his play at the plate for months. He had a .948 OPS in double-A and went on a power spree starting at the end of July, hitting 11 home runs before his promotion.
De Paula is expected to get regular at-bats at DH, with possibly some time in the outfield. He has some familiarity with the major-league squad and coaching staff, after being at spring training the last two years.
Hitting coach Aaron Bates said De Paula’s calmness in the batter’s box stood out.
“It’s a ‘wise beyond his years’ kind of thing,” Bates said. “Just very polished in the sense that there’s no panic when he’s in the box — especially for a young hitter. You see young hitters try to swing faster or catch up or swing harder. He’s got a great temperament about him as far as the way he goes about it. And I think this year he was able to kind of put it all together.”
De Paula pointed to improvements across the board — defensively, physically, mentally.
“It was a lot of visualization and concentration, holding focus,” he said. “Practicing that, I felt it would help focus in on what I have to do and not distractions. I feel it’s going to help me on the field [Friday].”
Freeman out of lineup
Freddie Freeman was out of the lineup with a sore right knee for the second straight game.
“Turf [field], flight, travel, just smart to give him one more day,” said Roberts, who initially hoped Freeman would return to the lineup Friday.
Roberts said he expects Freeman to return Saturday.
The post Josue De Paula shows poise in his much-anticipated debut as Dodgers beat Marlins appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
