Futures Game MVP Josue De Paula wants to be a Dodger ‘for a very long time'
Who's the best outfielder on the team?
'We're all good, brother,' said the left fielder, Josue De Paula. 'We've all got talent. We all excel somewhere.
'Us together? It's a dream squad. I don't feel like you see that much talent that often.'
De Paula flashed his considerable talent Saturday, hitting a three-run homer that decided the National League's 4-2 victory over the American League and earned him the Futures Game most valuable player award.
The only other Dodgers prospect to win that award: infielder Chin-Lung Hu, in 2007.
'This is definitely motivating for me,' DePaula said. 'Mentally, it was a big moment, to prove, especially to myself, who I really am.'
De Paula's home run traveled 416 feet, triggering a round of fireworks in the sky and a lump in De Paula's throat as he crossed home plate.
'I was overtaken by emotion,' he said, 'especially doing it in front of my dad.'
His father lives in New York City. The Midwest League is far away.
Perhaps the major leagues are not so far away. De Paula is 20, but he is in his fourth pro season. The Dodgers signed him out of the Dominican Republic, but he was born in New York City and he is a second cousin of former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury.
'Baseball called me,' De Paula said. 'I fell in love with it at a young age.'
Zyhir Hope, the Great Lakes right fielder, also appeared in the Futures Game. He singled ahead of DePaula and scored on the home run, so he was waiting at home plate to congratulate De Paula.
'We do it often,' De Paula said, smiling.
Hope, also 20, smiled when asked what he liked about De Paula's game.
'Everything,' he said. 'He takes it easily. He's calm, relaxed and laid back, but he works hard. He's a great dude.'
Before the season, Baseball Prospectus ranked De Paula and Hope among the top 10 prospects in baseball. Currently, MLB Pipeline ranks both among the top 40.
De Paula offers power, speed, and advanced plate discipline, although scouts wonder whether he can stick in left field or might need to try first base or designated hitter. Hope has advanced from a good-fielding prospect with uncertain hitting skills in the Chicago Cubs system — the Dodgers got him in the Michael Busch trade — to a gap hitter with speed.
This is the time of year, of course, where contenders trade prospects to fill major league needs. Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, rarely trades his top prospects, and De Paula ranks No. 1 in the Dodgers' farm system. On the other hand, the Dodgers need pitching help.
'I do want to get to L.A. I hope that's in God's plans,' De Paula said. 'At the end of the day, we never make the decisions. We've just got to focus on what we need to do on the field and whatever happens, happens.
'But I really do hope I become a Dodger and I stay there for a very long time.'
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Put a 'W' next to Dino's name.' NL wins All-Star Game swing-off, with help from Dino Ebel
Kyle Schwarber celebrates after hitting his third home run in the tiebreaker at the All-Star Game. (Brynn Anderson / Associated Press) Technically, there was no winning pitcher in Major League Baseball's 95th All-Star Game. The man who gave up the night's biggest swings, however, was probably as deserving as any. As the American League stormed back from a 6-0 deficit in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic, a rarely contemplated reality started to dawn in both dugouts. Advertisement Three years ago, MLB changed its rules for how to break ties in its annual marquee event, instituting a home run 'swing-off' to be conducted at the conclusion of the ninth inning. Each team selected three players, who each got three swings. Whichever team hit the most home runs in those nine swings wins the game. It was penalty kicks for baseball. A hockey shootout on the diamond. The only difference, though, was that this sport's version required a coach to take part in the action. Enter Dino Ebel — veteran Dodgers' third base coach — and, now, victorious pitcher in the inaugural All-Star Game swing-off. Advertisement 'What an exciting moment, I think, for baseball, for all the people that stayed, who watched on television, everything,' Ebel said, after teeing up the NL hitters for a 4-3 win in the home run swing-off, and a 7-6 win overall in the All-Star Game. Read more: Clayton Kershaw is the All-Star among All-Stars as NL defeats AL 'That was pretty awesome to be a part of … I had like 10 throws just to get loose. And then it's like, 'Let's bring it on.' ' Indeed, in an event that can often go stale once starters get removed in the early innings, the finish to Tuesday's game energized both the stands and the dugouts, with players from both teams emptying onto the field and wildly cheering each swing. Advertisement 'That was like the baseball version of a shootout or extra time,' said Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber, who went three for three in his turn at the plate to ultimately lift the NL to the win, and earn All-Star Game MVP honors. 'It was really fun. I credit the guys on our side, who were really into it.' 'First time in history we got to do this,' added Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts, who was previously 0-3 as an All-Star Game manager before Tuesday's dramatic conclusion. 'I think it played pretty well tonight.' Perhaps the greatest twist: In the middle of it all was Ebel, a 59-year-old base coach who, as a utility infielder from 1988 to 1994 in the Dodgers' minor-league system, never advanced past triple A. In addition to his duties as third base coach and outfield instructor for the Dodgers, Ebel is something of a batting practice specialist these days. He's thrown it on a daily basis to Dodgers hitters ever since the team hired him in 2019, and as a staff member with the Angels for years before that. He has pitched for four different players in the Home Run Derby, including Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernández's win in Texas last year. Kyle Schwarber celebrates with teammates after the NL won the All-Star Game tiebreaker. (Brynn Anderson / Associated Press) Ebel and Schwarber even had previous history of doing batting practice together, back when Ebel was a coach on Team USA's 2023 World Baseball Classic squad two years prior. Advertisement 'He's got great BP,' Schwarber said. 'A lot of credit goes to him, just kind of getting thrown into the firestorm there and not being rattled by it, being able to keep pumping really good strikes to us.' By the time Schwarber came up in the second round of the swing-off, the NL was in somewhat dicey position. Brent Rooker of the A's started the event off with two home runs for the AL. Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins and Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners each traded one, leaving the AL ahead 3-1. And while Schwarber is one of the league's most feared sluggers, with 30 long balls this year and 314 in his career, he said he rarely takes actual batting practice on the field, leaving him admittedly 'a little nervous' as strolled to the dish. 'I think the first swing was kind of the big one,' Schwarber said. 'I was just really trying to hit a line drive, versus trying to hit the home run. Usually, that tends to work out — especially in games.' Advertisement As Schwarber was preparing for his round, he and Ebel discussed where exactly he wanted the ball thrown. 'I'm gonna go left-center to center field,' Schwarber told Ebel. 'So just throw it down the middle.' Three thunderous swings later, Schwarber had put the NL in front with three towering blasts. Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel was the man of the moment at the All-Star Game. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 'This was putting it more on the line,' Ebel said of Tuesday's format, which unlike the Home Run Derby or daily BP, required more patience and precision with each player permitted only three swings. 'Like right now, you're gonna win it or you're gonna lose it. And we won it.' Indeed, when the Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda suffered an 0-fer that culminated in a pop-up, the NL team swarmed Schwarber, who then sought out Ebel and embraced him with a hug. Advertisement 'A lot of credit goes to him for the National League bringing it home,' Schwarber reiterated. 'Put a 'W' next to Dino's name in the paper,' Roberts echoed. 'Dino should get the win, absolutely.' This week was memorable for Ebel even before Tuesday's swing-off. On Sunday morning, he flew home early from the Dodgers' road series in San Francisco to be with his son, Brady, for the MLB draft. From their living room, the Ebel family celebrated after Brady was selected 32nd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, then packed up and headed for Ontario International Airport to catch a red-eye flight Sunday for Atlanta. Advertisement And after getting in early on Monday morning, Ebel had been going nonstop around All-Star festivities, joining his fellow Dodgers coaches (who made up the honorary NL staff after winning the pennant last year) for media appearances, throwing batting practice in a pre-Home Run Derby workout on Monday and, as it turned out, doing it again with Tuesday's game in the balance. 'It's pretty high adrenaline going for me right now,' Ebel said from the NL clubhouse postgame. 'I haven't gotten too much sleep. But right now, I feel like I've slept for days. Because I'm wired up.' Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘Put a ‘W' next to Dino's name.' NL wins All-Star Game swing-off, with help from Dino Ebel
Technically, there was no winning pitcher in Major League Baseball's 95th All-Star Game. The man who gave up the night's biggest swings, however, was probably as deserving as any. As the American League stormed back from a 6-0 deficit in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic, a rarely contemplated reality started to dawn in both dugouts. Three years ago, MLB changed its rules for how to break ties in its annual marquee event, instituting a home run 'swing-off' to be conducted at the conclusion of the ninth inning. Each team selected three players, who each got three swings. Whichever team hit the most home runs in those nine swings wins the game. It was penalty kicks for baseball. A hockey shootout on the diamond. The only difference, though, was that this sport's version required a coach to take part in the action. Enter Dino Ebel — veteran Dodgers' third base coach — and, now, victorious pitcher in the inaugural All-Star Game swing-off. 'What an exciting moment, I think, for baseball, for all the people that stayed, who watched on television, everything,' Ebel said, after teeing up the NL hitters for a 4-3 win in the home run swing-off, and a 7-6 win overall in the All-Star Game. 'That was pretty awesome to be a part of … I had like 10 throws just to get loose. And then it's like, 'Let's bring it on.' ' Indeed, in an event that can often go stale once starters get removed in the early innings, the finish to Tuesday's game energized both the stands and the dugouts, with players from both teams emptying onto the field and wildly cheering each swing. 'That was like the baseball version of a shootout or extra time,' said Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber, who went 3-for-3 in his turn at the plate to ultimately lift the NL to the win, and earn All-Star Game MVP honors for himself. 'It was really fun. I credit the guys on our side, who were really into it.' 'First time in history we got to do this,' added Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts, who was previously 0-3 as an All-Star Game manager before Tuesday's dramatic conclusion. 'I think it played pretty well tonight.' Perhaps the greatest twist: In the middle of it all was Ebel, a 59-year-old base coach who, as a utility infielder from 1988 to 1994 in the Dodgers' minor-league system, never advanced past triple-A. In addition to his duties as third base coach and outfield instructor for the Dodgers, Ebel is something of a batting practice specialist these days. He's thrown it on a daily basis to Dodgers hitters ever since the team hired him in 2019, and as a staff member with the Angels for years before that. He has pitched for four different players in the Home Run Derby, including Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero and Teoscar Hernández's win in Texas last year. Ebel and Schwarber even had previous history of doing batting practice together, back when Ebel was a coach on Team USA's 2023 World Baseball Classic squad two years prior. 'He's got great BP,' Schwarber said. 'A lot of credit goes to him, just kind of getting thrown into the firestorm there and not being rattled by it, being able to keep pumping really good strikes to us.' By the time Schwarber came up in the second round of the swing-off, the NL was in somewhat dicey position. Brent Rooker of the A's started the event off with two home runs for the AL. Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins and Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners each traded one, leaving the AL ahead 3-1. And while Schwarber is one of the league's most feared sluggers, with 30 long balls this year and 314 in his career, he said he rarely takes actual batting practice on the field, leaving him admittedly 'a little nervous' as strolled to the dish. 'I think the first swing was kind of the big one,' Schwarber said. 'I was just really trying to hit a line drive, versus trying to hit the home run. Usually, that tends to work out — especially in games.' As Schwarber was preparing for his round, he and Ebel discussed where exactly he wanted the ball thrown. 'I'm gonna go left-center to center field,' Schwarber told Ebel. 'So just throw it down the middle.' Three thunderous swings later, Schwarber had put the NL in front with three towering blasts. 'This was putting it more on the line,' Ebel said of Tuesday's format, which unlike the Home Run Derby or daily BP, required more patience and precision with each player permitted only three swings. 'Like right now, you're gonna win it or you're gonna lose it. And we won it.' Indeed, when the Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda suffered an 0-fer that culminated in a pop-up, the NL team swarmed Schwarber, who then sought out Ebel and embraced him with a hug. 'A lot of credit goes to him for the National League bringing it home,' Schwarber reiterated. 'Put a 'W' next to Dino's name in the paper,' Roberts echoed. 'Dino should get the win, absolutely.' This week was memorable for Ebel even before Tuesday's swing-off. On Sunday morning, he flew home early from the Dodgers' road series in San Francisco to be with his son, Brady, for the MLB Draft. From their living room, the Ebel family celebrated after Brady was selected 32nd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, then packed up and headed for Ontario International Airport to catch a red-eye flight Sunday for Atlanta. And after getting in early on Monday morning, Ebel had been going non-stop around All-Star festivities, joining his fellow Dodgers coaches (who made up the honorary NL staff after winning the pennant last year) for media appearances, throwing batting practice in a pre-Home Run Derby workout on Monday and, as it turned out, doing it again with Tuesday's game in the balance. 'It's pretty high adrenaline going for me right now,' Ebel said from the NL clubhouse postgame. 'I haven't gotten too much sleep. But right now, I feel like I've slept for days. Because I'm wired up.'
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Kyle Schwarber the hero as National League wins first All-Star Game decided by home run contest
Each team was due to have three hitters get three swings. The National League team of Kyle Stowers, Kyle Schwarber, and Pete Alonso had four homers, with Schwarber going 3-for-3 and winning the game's MVP award. The American League trio of Brent Rooker, Randy Arozarena, and Jonathan Aranda had three. (Aranda was shut out, meaning Alonso wasn't needed.) Advertisement The game also will be remembered for some pauses in the action. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw received a curtain call in the second inning in what could prove to be his final Midsummer Classic. Teammate Freddie Freeman also had a emotional moment, getting a chance to tip his cap to Braves fans in the city where he played much of his career. The second run of the AL's ninth-inning rally scored on a two-out infield single by Steven Kwan of the Guardians. Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski, a controversial selection given that he had appeared in only five regular-season games, pitched a scoreless eighth inning. He threw 18 pitches. Nine hit triple digits, including a 102.3-mile-per-hour heater to Toronto's Alejandro Kirk that was fouled off. Advertisement White Sox rookie Shane Smith, a righthander from Danvers, started the eighth inning for the AL. He hit Arizona's Eugenio Suarez with a fastball before getting Nationals slugger James Wood to ground into a force at second. That was the end of Smith's outing. In his second All-Star Game start, 23-year-old Pirates ace Paul Skenes retired the side on 14 pitches in the first inning. He struck out Tigers teammates Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene swinging. Yankees star Aaron Judge took a 100.4-m.p.h. fastball for a strike, then grounded a 99.4-m.p.h. fastball to second base to end the inning. Skenes was then the beneficiary of run support, something that has rarely happened with the Pirates this season considering he is 4-8 despite a 2.01 earned run average. Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. singled off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal before Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks lined a double down the line in right to drive in two runs. Major League Baseball used the ball-strike challenge system in the game. San Diego's Manny Machado was the first victim. He took a two-strike changeup over the plate from Skubal that was called a ball by umpire Dan Iassogna. Catcher Cal Raleigh tapped his helmet to initiate the challenge and Machado was called out on review for the second out of the inning. Skubal then struck out Will Smith of the Dodgers to leave Marte stranded. National League manager Dave Roberts took first baseman Freeman out of the game with two outs in the third inning so the former Braves star could be recognized by the crowd. Freeman played for Atlanta from 2010-21 before signing with the Dodgers as a free agent. He is a nine-time All-Star. Advertisement Roberts also had another of his players, Kershaw, face two batters in the second inning before coming out of the game. The 37-year-old was a 'legends' pick for the game. 'It was a little uncomfortable. But now that I'm done with it, it was awesome,' Kershaw said. 'I'm so glad I got to come and share with family and kiddos and all the stuff.' Roberts also had Kershaw address the team before the game. Facing Kris Bubic of the Royals, the National League took a 6-0 lead in the sixth inning. Fernando Tatís Jr. of the Padres drew a walk and stole second. Brendan Donovan reached on an infield single that pushed Tatis to third. Mets slugger Alonso, who skipped the Home Run Derby on Monday, lined a high fastball into the seats in right field for his first All-Star Game home run. Facing Casey Mize of the Tigers, Corbin Carroll homered to center field. The game paused after the inning for a tribute to Braves icon Henry Aaron, who passed away in 2021. His widow, 88-year-old Billye Aaron, was at the game. The American League finally scored in the seventh inning when Rooker of the Athletics hit a three-run homer off San Francisco's Randy Rodriguez. Maikel Garcia of the Royals walked, stole second, went to third on an error, and scored when teammate Bobby Witt Jr. grounded to second. That cut the NL lead to 6-4. Peter Abraham can be reached at
