‘It’s like a movie:’ Josue De Paula embraces spotlight in Los Angeles

'It's like a movie: ' Josue De Paula embraces spotlight in Los Angeles.

Key points

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Bob Nightengale examines reservations surrounding Shohei Ohtani's health and what they could mean for the Dodgers as they prepare for another playoff run.

'It's like a movie: ' Josue De Paula embraces spotlight in Los Angeles. Andrés Soto USA TODAY. Could Shohei Ohtani's health jeopardize Dodgers' playoff run?

"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 informed USA TODAY Sports.

De Paula, 21, has played his role perfectly through his first week in the major leagues.

Meanwhile, 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 obtained 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 remarked. "I'm so locked in, but I know how to calm myself down."

And when he does create 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 obtained 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 remarked. "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." Where does that unflappable joy come from?

"We obtained some swag in Brooklyn. We obtained some swag in the Dominican Republic. I just feel like I obtained a chip on my shoulder, " De Paula stated. "And it just comes out naturally."

That came out again in the bottom of the eighth when Giants reliever Philip Abner 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 indicated the ball had missed the top of the zone 0.1 inches. The Dodger Stadium crowd obtained 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 particularly 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.

"Love De Paula, " Roberts remarked. "I just love his at-bats. It's one of those things that we knew that coming up to the major leagues, he wasn't going to secure overwhelmed, and it just helps when you control the strike zone. When the ball is in the hitting zone, he can slug you, but he additionally knows how to secure a base hit, he takes his walks. It's been particularly 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 particularly small sample size, and baseball has a way of humbling even the most skilled hitters. After all, a game of failure, it is. But what he managed 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 particularly least, he's played himself into the postseason roster conversation.

"To have (Roberts) believe in me so much, " De Paula remarked. "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 obtain 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 remarked. "It's gonna take some time."

That opportunity probable 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 create 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 obtained 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 remarked. "I might give it to them right now." Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, 'It's like a movie: Josue De Paula embraces spotlight in Los Angeles is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.