Josue De Paula named Futures Game MVP

ATLANTA – Dodgers prospect Josue De Paula was a freshman in Brooklyn when the COVID pandemic hit. He attended virtual classes like every other kid in America. He and his family didn’t believe a virtual setting without baseball was the right move, however. 

So, his parents Josue De Paula Brito Sr. and Joy Sanders decided to move to the Dominican Republic to pursue De Paula’s baseball journey. The family moved to Santo Domingo so the then-15-year-old could attend El Niche Baseball Academy. 

The adjustment was difficult for the left-handed slugger. He didn’t know much about his dad’s native Dominican Republic culture besides the stories he heard from his dad. Moreover, he knew very little Spanish. 

“It was very hard at the beginning,” said Josue De Paula, who was named MVP of the All-Star Futures Game on Saturday at Truist Park. “I’m a kid from Brooklyn. You know what I’m saying? Growing up with my parents and going to school there, when you go to a foreign country like that, especially when you’re so young, it’s like bro. You know what I’m saying. 

“It’s like a whole other planet. But then it’s like, ‘Focus up. And you can get adjusted.’ I had to adjust over time.”

All about baseball

De Paula, 20, not only had to adapt socially, he also had to adjust to playing baseball year round. In Brooklyn it would get too cold for organized baseball during winter. 

This meant competition was tough for De Paula. His teammates at the baseball academy played baseball their whole life and trained every single day. 

“It was so crazy to see kids, especially that young, taking it so seriously but that makes sense,” he said. “That’s basically their life. They live, breathe and eat baseball. So it was crazy.”

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The move paid off two years later. The Dodgers signed him with a $397,500 bonus. Now he’s Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect. He has quickly risen through Los Angeles’ farm systems. He spent only a year in the Dominican Summer League before being sent to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2023. 

A home run to remember

Now, De Paula is slugging with the Class A Great Lake Loons. He showed his power at the MLB All-Star Futures Game. De Paula smashed a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the NL a 4-3 lead. 

White Sox No. 1 prospect Noah Schultz threw De Paula two sliders in row. He attempted to throw a third slider, but De Paula was on it. He hit the ball 416 feet to right-center, sending at 108-mph off his bat. 

Josue De Paula (@Dodgers No. 1 prospect) demolishes this ball and gives the NL the lead! 💥 pic.twitter.com/lXyNZiZW8G

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 12, 2025

“It meant a lot,” De Paula said on winning the MVP. “The emotions of it. I was taken by emotion. Especially doing it in front of my dad. Especially being here in the Futures Game, it doesn’t happen. I tried to make the best of it. I did today. Not very often I get to play in front of him.”

When the Dodgers’ prospect isn’t hitting home runs or driving in runs, he is helping his Rancho Cucamonga teammates by translating.

“If they want to speak to one of the clubbies or the coaches and they need to ask for a favor, I’m like, ‘Bro, what do you want to say? This, this, this, that. Just tell them like that,’” he says.