Jose Rafael De Paula

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #15 prospect in 2014
  After identity snafus led to a one-year suspension and a 16-month layoff before Major League Baseball approved his $500,000 deal with the Yankees, De Paula spent his first year laying waste to much younger hitters in the Dominican Summer Leagues, building anticipation for his U.S. debut in 2013. He started in the low Class A South Atlantic League and treated hitters there much the same. The problem was, he relied on a fastball that could regularly reach into the mid- to upper 90s with hard, late sink. That all changed once De Paula got high Class A Tampa, where hitters promptly taught him that he'd need to rely more on his slider and changeup, which are both works in progress. De Paula's delivery gets out of sync easily, making it hard for him to throw either secondary offering for strikes. Moreover, evaluators thought he seemed hesitant to go to those pitches when necessary, instead choosing to throw his fastball as hard as he could in the hopes of blowing it past hitters as he'd done previously. His fastball is good enough that if even one of his offspeed pitches can touch average, he could be a quality reliever down the road. De Paula will require significant improvement to project as a starter in the long term, and he'll begin 2014 back at Tampa.
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  Ranked New York Yankees #10 prospect in 2013
  DePaula has presented different versions of his name and several different birthdates over the years, leading to a one-year suspension from MLB in May 2009, before he ever even signed a professional contract. DePaula agreed to a $500,000 bonus with the Yankees in November 2010, and MLB took 16 months to approve the deal while it investigated. He worked out at the Yankees' Dominican Republic academy while in limbo and finally acquired a visa in March 2012, passed his physical and signed with New York. He made his pro debut with their Rookie-level Dominican Summer League affiliate. He led the DSL with 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Most 21-year-olds in a Latin American complex league aren't prospects, but DePaula is different. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and touches 98 as a starter. Scouts also like his hard curveball, which projects as an above-average or better pitch. He hasn't needed it much, but he has flashed a promising changeup as well. DePaula's secondary stuff was inconsistent in his debut, due in part to his lack of experience. But he's physical with a strong, strapping frame, has a clean arm action and repeats his delivery, allowing him to throw consistent strikes. He has big hands and long arms, and he has shown a feel for manipulating the baseball. Club officials are excited about his work ethic and makeup. DePaula is the biggest X-factor in the system and his ceiling is as high as any Yankees minor league pitcher. He's expected to make an aggressive jump from the DSL to high Class A.

Minor League Top Prospects

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  Ranked South Atlantic League #17 prospect in 2013
  Seen on the right night, De Paula looked like he belonged in the same class of pitching prospects as Butler or Edwards. Seen on a bad night, he looked like a one-pitch pitcher who would struggle to ever make it out of Double-A. That one pitch is pretty good, even on the bad nights, and was enough to earn him a promotion to high Class A Tampa in mid-June. De Paula has premium velocity with a 91-93 mph fastball that frequently touched 96-97. When his delivery was in sync, he also showed a potentially average breaking ball and fringy changeup. But more often than not, delivery issues would make it hard for him to develop consistent feel for his breaking ball. ?He?ll be a reliever,? one NL scout said. ?You?ll have him come in and let it all hang out.?

• December, 2012 Scouting Report
  Background: DePaula has presented different iterations of his name and several different birthdates over the years, leading to a one-year suspension from MLB in May 2009, before he ever even signed a professional contract. Initially courted by a number of teams while he worked out with current Cardinals farmhand Carlos Martinez, DePaula eventually agreed to a $500,000 bonus with the Yankees in November 2010. However, MLB took 16 months to approve the deal while it investigated. He worked out at the Yankees' Dominican Republic academy while in limbo and finally acquired a visa in March 2012, passed his physical and signed with New York. He made his pro debut with their Rookie-level Dominican Summer League affiliate. He led the DSL with 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Scouting Report: Most 21-year-olds in a Latin American complex league aren't prospects, but DePaula is different. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and touches 98 as a starter. Scouts also like his hard curveball, which projects as an above-average or better pitch. He hasn't needed it much, but he has flashed a promising changeup as well. DePaula's secondary stuff was inconsistent in his debut, due in part to his lack of experience. But he's physical with a strong, strapping frame, has a clean arm action and repeats his delivery, allowing him to throw consistent strikes. He has big hands and long arms, and he has shown a feel for manipulating the baseball. Club officials are excited about his work ethic and makeup. The Future: DePaula is the biggest X-factor in the system. The organization's pitching talent has thinned with graduations, trades and attrition, and DePaula's ceiling is as high as any Yankees minor league pitcher. He'll be 22 in 2013, when he's expected to make an aggressive jump from the DSL to high Class