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The Los Angeles Dodgers drew six walks during Game 1 of the NLCS, including one from rookie sensation Josue De Paula in the top of the ninth inning.
De Paula pinch-hit for Kiké Hernández with the Dodgeres down 2-1, two outs, and a runner on first base. He drew a five-pitch walk against Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Megill, which prompted former Cincinnati Reds great and current NBC analyst Joey Votto to heap praise upon the Dodgers' 21-year-old-prospect.
"De Paula about to be in that upper tier quick, quick.," Votto wrote on X (formerly Twitter) during Sunday's game. In the comments of his tweet, the former MVP went on to mention De Paula's beautiful swing and elite swing-decisions.
The high-end comparison for De Paula has always been Yordan Alvarez, who the Dodgers famously once had in their pipeline. One can assume the likely 2026 AL MVP is certainly a player in Votto's so-called "upper tier" of hitters in MLB. De Paula didn't even swing the bat during his plate appearance in Game 1, but the seeds are being planted for what should be an incredibly successful career.
Dodgers' Josue De Paula is turning heads and could force tough managerial decisions in the playoffs
De Paula now has two walks in his three plate appearances during the postseason. His previous one came during the seventh inning of Game 4 of the NLDS, which allowed the Dodgers to score the go-ahead and game-winning runs to seal the series and advance to the NLCS.
Manager Dave Roberts could swap De Paula for the likes of Hernández, Tommy Edman, or Miguel Rojas. So far, during the postseason, the Dodgers are hitting .207/.282/.360/.642 in the postseason and De Paula's presence on the bench could help alleviate what has been an underwhelming postseason offensively for the reigning back-to-back World Series champions.
It takes every single player on the roster having a clutch moment for a team to win a World Series, and De Paula is showing that he is more than capable of providing an invaluable at bat if he is deployed properly.
De Paula's impressive, yet inconsequential, walk in Game 1 might already have Dodgers fans questioning Teoscar Hernandez's future this offseason. Unless De Paula can learn a new position on the fly like Mookie Betts, he'll completely blocked from the starting lineup by Hernandez, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker, in 2027.
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