Josue De Paula, Christian Zazueta named Dodgers minor league player, pitcher of year

De Paula is the Dodgers' best prospect — in MLB Pipeline rankings updated just this week, De Paula is the fourth-best prospect in the sport , to name one outlet. He hit .303/.401/.547 with a 145 wRC+ 37 doubles, 27 home runs, 31 steals, 106 runs scored, 104 RBI, and nearly as many walks (81) as strikeouts (87) for Double-A Tulsa to win Texas League MVP , more than doubling his career highs in home runs and extra-base hits.

Then De Paula made his major league debut in September, hitting a robust .323/.500/.581 with three home runs, a triple, and a double in 11 games when Shohei Ohtani was on the injured list, with 11 walks against only five strikeouts. There's an excellent chance the 21-year-old will be active on the Dodgers' roster for the NLDS against the Braves, and in between he reached base five times in three postseason games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, helping the Comets win the Pacific Coast League title and the Triple-A national championship game.

Zazueta didn't win any particular league awards, but only because he split his time nearly evenly between High-A Great Lakes and Double-A Tulsa, posting a 3.65 ERA in 23 games, including 22 starts, with 144 strikeouts against only 20 walks in 103 2/3 innings. Among the 264 pitchers with at least 100 minor league innings in 2026, Zazueta's 30.4-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate was the best .