Prospect of the Day: Josue De Paula and the Dodgers Prospect Group
PROSPECT OF THE DAY: JOSUE DE PAULA
LF, LAD | as of 11/14/2026
Josue De Paula walked exactly as often as he struck out in 2026, 14.6% of the time each, and he hit 28 homers across 630 plate appearances. OOPSY projects a .359 OBP for him, third among the 91 hitters in the OOPSY Peak top 100, and he is the top Dodgers prospect in the STS fantasy ranking at No. 15 overall. The open question is power: those 28 homers already ran well past the 19 OOPSY projects.
The Top Dodger of Six in the Top 100
The Dodgers place six prospects in the OOPSY Peak top 100, and De Paula is the highest of them in the STS fantasy ranking at No. 15, with 3.1 Peak WAR. The other five: Eduardo Quintero (center fielder, No. 18, 3.7 Peak WAR); Mike Sirota (center fielder, No. 50, 2.8 Peak WAR); Emil Morales (shortstop, No. 51, 3.1 Peak WAR); James Tibbs III (right fielder, No. 53, 1.9 Peak WAR); Charles Davalan (center fielder, No. 56, 2.4 Peak WAR).
First in the Ranking, Second in Peak WAR
De Paula ranks first of the six by STS fantasy ranking but second by Peak WAR. Eduardo Quintero sits right behind him in the ranking at No. 18, three spots back, and his 3.7 Peak WAR leads the group, 0.6 higher than De Paula’s. Emil Morales’ 3.1 matches De Paula at one decimal. The STS fantasy ranking and Peak WAR both use OOPSY Peak projection data; they are different calculations off those peak numbers, so the ranks may vary.
An On-Base Bat
Getting on base is the calling card. His best STS grades are hit (70) and speed (55), and the projected .359 OBP fits that profile. On-base percentage drives runs scored and counts directly in OBP leagues. His No. 15 spot in the STS fantasy ranking sits well ahead of his Peak WAR, which is only the 40th-highest on the board. The speed showed up in 2026 too: he stole 32 bases, and OOPSY projects 20.
A Top-Six Season on The Pulse
The full 2026 season put him sixth of 2,144 prospects on The Pulse’s 2026 season board, which grades this season only. OOPSY Peak, which projects his peak, has him No. 11 among hitters. The season and the projection point the same way, and the one place the season ran clearly ahead is power.
Four Hitters, Then Jarlin Susana at No. 10
The next real step is the top ten overall, and Nationals starting pitcher Jarlin Susana holds that line at No. 10, five spots ahead. The four spots in between belong to hitters: the Rays’ Theo Gillen at No. 11, the Twins’ Walker Jenkins at No. 12 and Emmanuel Rodriguez at No. 13, and the Rangers’ Sebastian Walcott at No. 14. All four project for more Peak WAR than De Paula, and Susana’s 3.9 is 0.8 ahead of his 3.1. If De Paula cracks the top ten, home runs are the likeliest way he does it.
Home Runs Are the Number to Watch
OOPSY projects him for 19 homers, 55th of 91 hitters in the OOPSY Peak top 100 and two below the group’s median of 21. That is the one soft spot in the projection, and 2026 already pushed against it: he hit 28 homers in 630 plate appearances, nine more than OOPSY projects. If De Paula keeps hitting for that kind of power, home runs are the piece most likely to move his OOPSY projection.
Hold the Player, Not Necessarily the Card
The scout-based rankings, which we use as a rough stand-in for trade prices, have him inside their top 10, in line with his No. 15 overall spot in the STS fantasy ranking. You won’t buy him at a discount, and there is no reason to sell. Hold him for the on-base skills; if his home run projection catches up to what he did in 2026, that’s upside on top. The cardboard is a different story: his 2023 Bowman 1st Base Auto sells for $239.80 against a $94.44 expected price, a strong sell on this week’s Hobby Advantage Buy/Sell Index. At 21, he has plenty of time to continue developing.
Keep Digging
Every prospect’s STS fantasy ranking, Peak WAR and grades live on the OOPSY Peak page. STS members get the full rankings and player cards. Become a member. Back tomorrow with the next pick.
Data: OOPSY Peak as of 11/13/2026; Formulated Consensus as of 11/13/2026; The Pulse (2026 season).