Add The California Post on Google Josue De Paula received a huge shoutout from one of baseball’s biggest stars.
Juan Soto posted a clip of De Paula on his Instagram story, where the Dodgers top prospect was in the midst of working his fifth walk in just four major league games. The New York Mets star called De Paula “el loco mio” on his story as MLB compared the 21-year-old’s stance to Soto’s.
View this post on Instagram De Paula and Soto both attended “El Niche” baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. Soto, who had a chance to sign with the Dodgers ahead of the 2025 season, has evidently not lost love for his fellow countryman and budding star.
As for whether De Paula was trying to copy the Soto Shuffle, the Dodgers outfielder explained what was going through his head during that at-bat.
“I wasn’t exactly trying to emulate it. It was more just me being so locked in and getting into my legs,” he told the California Post Tuesday. “But I can understand how it looks like a Soto shuffle. And if people think it looks like that, hey, I’m not mad at it.”
De Paula and Soto have developed a relationship as the pair share representation with Boras Coporation. It appears the former has begun his own version of the Soto Shuffle.
The Dodgers promoted De Paula from Double-A last week to fill in for the injured Shohei Ohtani. Despite being the youngest player in the lineup, De Paula exudes confidence and power when he steps in the batter’s box.
Moreover, the De Paula’s plate discipline is a rarity for young players. Yet, entering Tuesday night’s game he had managed to avoid striking out.
