ATLANTA: Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Josue De Paula celebrates after launching a three-run homer during the 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park on July 12, 2025. His performance earned him the Larry Doby Award as the game’s MVP. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Josue De Paula is aiming to make All-Star Futures Game history by becoming the first player ever to capture the event’s MVP honor twice.
De Paula claimed the Larry Doby Award after delivering a go-ahead three-run home run in the 2025 showcase in Atlanta. The honor bears the name of the Hall of Famer who, in 1947, became the first Black player in American League history.
“It meant a lot,” De Paula told Mark Feinsand of MLB.com last July. “I was overtaken by emotions, especially doing it in front of my dad. That’s something that doesn’t happen very often.
“I just wanted to go up there, see ball, hit ball, knowing that we don’t have any information on these pitchers.”
TULSA, OK: Tulsa Drillers outfielder Josue De Paula in action against the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field on April 19, 2026. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
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De Paula is seeing and hitting plenty this year. He’s seeing his name among the best hitters as one of the youngest players in the Double-A Texas League. The Tulsa Drillers’ 21-year-old outfielder currently:
- Leads the league in hits (101), runs (71), doubles (26), and total bases (174).
- Is tied for third in RBI (65), fifth in walks (53) and tied for sixth in batting average (.321).
- Is ninth in slugging percentage (.553), 10th in homers (15) and OPS (.971), 12th in on-base percentage.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound left-hander signed with the Dodgers at age 16 for $397,000. Though born in Brooklyn, he moved to the Dominican Republic in 2021 while in high school in order to be eligible for MLB’s international signing period in January 2022.
He made his mark immediately with the Dodgers’ team in the Dominican Summer League, batting .349 with 30 RBI and 16 steals in 54 games at age 17.
In 415 minor-league games, he has a .287 batting average with 302 runs, 44 homers, 241 RBI and 114 steals in 139 attempts.
De Paula is currently ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the game by Baseball America and MLB.com. Both have Jesus Made (Brewers) and Leo De Vries (Athletics) at No. 1 and No. 2. Eli Willits (Nationals) is MLB.com’s No. 3. Baseball America has Cole Emerson, already called up to the Seattle Mariners, at No. 3.
The Dodgers’ Mike Sirota
Joining De Paula in the 2026 All-Star Futures Game in Philadelphia on Sunday will be Dodgers prospect Mike Sirota, 23, who has split time in 2026 between the Great Lakes Loons of the High-A Midwest League and Tulsa.
The 6-2, 188-pound outfielder has performed nearly the same at each level:
- 35 games at Great Lakes: .325, 7 homers, 22 RBI, 37 runs 8-for-9 stealing.
- 39 games at Tulsa: .3219, 7 homers, 25 RBI, 32 runs, 3-for-3 stealing.
EASTLAKE, OH: Mike Sirota of the Great Lakes Loons bats against the Lake County Captains at Classic Auto Group Park on May 6, 2026. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
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Sirota was picked in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds and signed for $863,300. The Dodgers had picked him out of high school in the 16th round in 2021, but he went to Northeastern University and hit .324 with 29 homers, 11 RBI and 49 steals in 143 games over three years.
The Reds traded him to Los Angeles in January 2025 for infielder Gavin Lux.
Sirota is currently ranked No. 11 overall by MLB.com and No. 12 by Baseball America. He is among 39 players from MLB.com’s Top 100 selected to play Sunday.
Sirota currently has reached base in an 69 consecutive games.
2026 Futures Game Selections
Arizona Diamondbacks: SS Kayson Cunningham
Athletics: SS Leo De Vries; LHP Jamie Arnold.
Atlanta Braves: LHP Cam Caminiti.
Baltimore Orioles: OF/1B Ike Irish, OF/1B; LHP Joseph Dzierwa.
Boston Red Sox: SS Franklin Arias; RHP Anthony Eyanson.
Chicago Cubs: OF/1B Josiah Hartshorn; RHP Mason McGwire.
Chicago White Sox: 3B/SS Caleb Bonemer, 3B/SS.
Cincinnati Reds: C Alfredo Duno.
Cleveland Guardians: 1B/OF Ralphy Velazquez; ^C/OF Cooper Ingle.
Colorado Rockies: 1B/OF Charlie Condon; OF/2B Roldy Brito.
Detroit Tigers: C/1B Thayron Liranzo.
Houston Astros: OF Kevin Alvarez, OF; +3B/SS Xavier Neyens, 3B/SS.
Kansas City Royals: RHP Kendry Chourio; C Blake Mitchell.
Los Angeles Angels: RHP Tyler Bremner; OF Nelson Rada.
Los Angeles Dodgers: OF Josue De Paula; OF Mike Sirota.
Miami Marlins: RHP Karson Milbrandt.
ATLANTA: Jesús Made of the Milwaukee Brewers at the 2025 MLB All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park on July 12, 2025. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Milwaukee Brewers: SS Jesús Made; INF Luis Peña.
Minnesota Twins: +OF Walker Jenkins; *SS Kaelen Culpepper.
New York Mets: 1B/OF Ryan Clifford.
New York Yankees: *SS George Lombard Jr.; RHP Carlos Lagrange.
Philadelphia Phillies: RHP Gage Wood; RHP Wen-Hui Pan.
Pittsburgh Pirates: RHP Seth Hernandez; OF/1B Edward Florentino.
BRADENTON, FL: Seth Hernandez pitches for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Detroit Tigers at LECOM Park on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
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St. Louis Cardinals: C Rainiel Rodriguez; LHP Liam Doyle.
San Diego Padres: C Ethan Salas; LHP Kash Mayfield.
San Francisco Giants: SS/2B Gavin Kilen; OF Dakota Jordan.
Seattle Mariners: LHP Kade Anderson; RHP Ryan Sloan, RHP.
Tampa Bay Rays: OF Theo Gillen; C Nathan Flewelling.
Texas Rangers: RHP Caden Scarborough.
Toronto Blue Jays: SS JoJo Parker; RHP Nolan Perry, RHP.
Washington Nationals: SS Eli Willits; RHP Miguel Sime Jr.
^ Selected but ineligible due to Major League callup.
* Selected but replaced due to injury.
+ Added as replacement.
Larry Doby Award Winners
For the first three years of the All-Star Futures Game, the player voted to have had the best performance was simply given the MVP Award. The name was changed in 2002 to the Larry Doby Award.
Doby turned pro at age 18 and played four seasons (1942-44, 1946) for the Newark Eagles of the Negro League. He missed 1945 serving in World War II.
CLEVELAND: Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians kisses the bat with which he hit a home run in Game Four of the World Series against the Boston Braves on October 9, 1948 at Cleveland Stadium. The Indians won, 2-1. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Sporting News via Getty Images
He made his historic MLB debut on July 5, 1947, following Jackie Robinson as the second black player in the majors. He got his first hit, an RBI single off Orval Grove of the Chicago White Sox, the next day.
Doby hit only .156 (5-for-32) that year for the Cleveland Indians. In 1948, he hit .301 and was a big reason the Indians won the World Series. Cleveland has not won one since.
Overall until 1959, Doby batted .288 with 243 homers and 1,093 RBI. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Here’s the list of All-Star Futures Game MVPs:
1999: SS Alfonso Soriano, Yankees
2000: 3B Sean Burroughs, Padres
2001: C Toby Hall, Devil Rays
2002: SS Jose Reyes, Mets
2003: OF Grady Sizemore, Indians
2004: SS Aaron Hill, Devil Rays
2005: 1B Justin Huber, Royals
2006: OF Billy Butler, Royals
2007: SS Chin-ling Hu, Dodgers
2008: OF Che-Hsuan Lin, Red Sox
2009: OF Rene Tosoni, Twins
2010: C Hank Conger, Angels
2011: C Grant Green, Athletics
2012: DH Nick Castellanos, Tigers
2013: 3B Matt Davidson, Diamondbacks
2014: 3B Joey Gallo, Rangers
2015: C Kyle Schwarber, Cubs
CINCINNATI: Kyle Schwarber with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson after receiving the MVP award for the All-Star Futures Game at Great American Ball Park on July 12, 2015. Schwarber grew up near Cincinnati and Robinson began his MLB career there. (Photo by John Grieshop/MLB via Getty Images)
MLB via Getty Images
2016: 3B Yoan Moncada, Red Sox
2017: RHP Brent Honeywell Jr., Rays
2018: OF Taylor Trammell, Reds
2019: 1B Sam Huff, Rangers
2020: Game cancelled by Covid-19
2021: OF Brennen Davis, Cubs
2022: C Shea Langeliers, Athletics
2023: SS Nasim Núñez, Nationals
2024: 3B Cam Collier, Reds
2025: OF Josue De Paula, Dodgers
Josue DePaula’s Future
The other 29 MLB teams and their fans wish De Paula was playing basketball. Why not? His cousins Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair were NBA guards.
Instead, the two-time defending World Series champions are grooming another potential star to play at Dodger Stadium. Because he’s left-handed and hits with power, De Paula is often compared to Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez. Truth is, he could be a more complete, and therefore more valuable player as De Paula is a much better runner and fielder.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have an incredibly bright future that is likely to get even better when Josue De Paula joins them.
