Juan Soto's praise for Josue De Paula should light a fire under Dodgers rookie this postseason

There's certainly a ton of hype surrounding Los Angeles Dodgers No. 1 prospect Josue De Paula, who is Baseball America's No. 4 ranked prospect on their Top 100 list. De Paula was called up in September after Shohei Ohtani went on the IL and impressed in 11 games. So much so that he was added to the Dodgers' NLDS roster.

Now, De Paula has a chance to really make his mark in the playoffs as a rookie. With the Dodgers looking to win their third consecutive World Series title this October, De Paula drew some high praise from New York Mets superstar Juan Soto, who De Paula has worked out with before and shares the same agent in Scott Boras.

Mets All-Star Juan Soto give props to Dodgers rookie Josue De Paula

“He’s special. He has really good abilities," Soto told The Athletic. "He’s always been a grinder. He has always understood the strike zone with a great swing. It’s really cool to see what he’s capable of.”

While Soto has provided guidance to De Paula, he claims he hasn't had to give the 21-year-old much advice when it comes to hitting or playing the outfield.

“My talks with him were more about how he could go about things with his team because he already has the ability,” Soto said. “I don’t have to talk too much about hitting or playing the outfield or anything like that with him. He knew what he was doing. And he was capable of doing whatever you’d have in mind.”

De Paula's recent shuffle and head-shaking in the batter's box in between pitches had many drawing comparisons to Soto, who does the similar signature "Soto shuffle" in the box. But De Paula swore to The Athletic that he wasn't trying to imitate Soto.

“I swear I wasn’t, like, trying to do the whole thing,” De Paula said to The Athletic. “It was just like I got into my legs and I was shaking my head, but I didn’t go with the whole lean and stuff like that. But, I mean, people say it looks like him, so, hey, I’m not mad. That’s not a bad player to look like.”

Juan Soto's comments could light a fire under Josue De Paula

Everyone knows that De Paula has the ability to perform in the postseason. One National League scout recently told FanSided that De Paula is the "most polished young hitter" he has ever seen. After getting called up to make his MLB debut on September 11, De Paula slashed .323/.500/.581 with a 1.081 OPS, one home run, 11 walks and seven RBI in 31 at-bats.

Soto's praise of De Paula could ignite the rookie outfielder's bat in the playoffs by further motivating the youngster. Like Soto, De Paula has shown great plate discipline, so there is some similarities there in each of their games.

De Paula didn't appear in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, and went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in Game 2. If he receives enough at-bats in the postseason, he has a chance to show the Dodgers and the baseball world what he can do on offense.

The only dilemma is there are concerns with De Paula's defense in the outfield. While the Dodgers believe in him in the long-term, De Paula isn't a plus defender, which could minimize his playing time in the postseason. For that, De Paula might have to make his mark as a pinch-hitter in October.

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