ALL-STAR FUTURES GAME

July 12, 2025

Josue De Paula

Truist Park

Futures Game Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started.

Q. Josue, what does it mean to you today to hit the three-run homer which was the difference for your team, and to be MVP of the event?

JOSUE De PAULA: It meant a lot. The emotions of it. I was taken by emotion. Especially doing it in front of my dad. Especially being here in the Futures Game, it doesn't happen. I tried to make the best of it. I did today.

Q. Since you mentioned your dad, how often do you get to play in front of him?

JOSUE De PAULA: Not often. Not very often I get to play in front of him.

Q. Where does he live?

JOSUE De PAULA: He lives in Queens right now, New York.

Q. When you crossed home plate, you were pointing your hands. Is that every home run, or is that special for today?

JOSUE De PAULA: Every home run I do it. Every home run, I give thanks to the Man above.

Q. I know you've spoken about this earlier. Working out with guys like Juan Soto and Elly De La Cruz in the off-season, what have you learned working with guys like that? How do you think that's helped you on a stage like this in a big league park?

JOSUE De PAULA: It's a lot on the mental side. Not physically. I feel the physical ability will be always there. Just developing as I age and get stronger with time. But just a lot of things on the mental side, I feel like with time, as long as I can dominate my mental, I'll be in a really good spot for a very long time.

I had a few mental tips, and just how they go about their work, how they go about their day, their routine and just how to handle yourself during the full season.

Q. Has this experience helped you be more motivated to keep advancing through your career and eventually get to the big leagues?

JOSUE De PAULA: For sure. Definitely a motivator. For me mentally, a big moment. It proved to me, especially to myself, who I really am.

Q. Congratulations. This is a great day for you at the plate. If you could talk about this experience as a whole from the start of the day to, obviously, your big moment?

JOSUE De PAULA: Yeah. It was a lot of preparation to it, like mentally. I didn't go too crazy. I just wanted to come in here and really just have fun, knowing that this moment was really to have fun and to experience it with those guys, especially having so much talent on the field. And thank God I had somebody to do it with, which was Zyhir Hope, and that made the process so much easier. Just going throughout the day, laughing, just ready for the game, just having fun. Meeting those guys, it was really special.

Q. Josue, obviously, you want to have fun out here. It's also a stage to do well. You did your thing. What's your strategy? Three straight sliders, what's your approach there?

JOSUE De PAULA: I can't lie to you, man. I think that was pure, like, just like I just wanted to go up there, see ball, hit ball, knowing that we don't have any information on these pitchers. There was no way we could have, like, prepped for them.

So, thank God, there was a few batters, I think it was two batters before me hit. So I saw he had a good heater. I didn't know what his secondary pitch was, how they moved. So he threw me three straight same pitches. One was a ball, one was a strike. He threw me another one that was very identical to the last one. So I saw it, hit it.

Q. Josue, just how special it is to be the first international prospect in a while to be named the Futures Game MVP?

JOSUE De PAULA: Very special. Doing it in front of my dad, like I said, was a very special moment for me. I'll remember it for life. You mentioned Zyhir. How cool was it to have him there at home plate after the home run?

JOSUE De PAULA: Very cool. We do it often. In the regular season, we do it often. Seeing him work and me and him both going at it on the field and doing it together, him being there for that was a real help for me. Like I said, throughout the day, just made the whole process easier, him being here.

THE MODERATOR: Congrats again.

JOSUE De PAULA: Thank you, sir.