Xavier Paul
Los Angeles Dodgers — No. 3
Outfielder
Born: February 25, 1985 (1985-02-25) (age 24) Slidell, Louisiana
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 7, 2009 for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Career statistics (through 2009 season)
Batting average	.214
Home runs	1
Runs batted in	1
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (2009-present)

Xavier Brooks Paul, Jr. (born February 25, 1985, in Slidell, Louisiana) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

[edit] Early life

While at Slidell High School in 2003 he was selected to Baseball America's second team High School All-American team after batting .391 with nine homers, 17 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. He then hit .444 for Team U.S.A. at the 2003 Pan American Games. He also played with the 2001 Junior National Team that won a gold model at the World Championships.

[edit] Baseball career

Paul was drafted in the fourth round of the June 2003 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his professional debut with the Ogden Raptors and was selected to the Rookie League All-Star team after hitting .307 for the Raptors.

In 2004 he was tagged by Baseball America as having the best Outfield Arm in the Dodgers system and as the Dodgers seventh-best prospect. He hit .262 for the Columbus Catfish that season.

He played for the Vero Beach Dodgers in 2005 and 2006, and was ranked by Baseball America as the Best Defensive outfielder in the entire Single-A level.

In 2007 he played for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns, hitting .291 with 11 homers and 17 stolen bases. Paul was selected to the Southern League Mid-season All-Star Team. He played in the Arizona Fall League after the season and was promoted to the Las Vegas 51s and placed on the Dodgers 40 man roster for the 2008 season. He hit .316 with Las Vegas that season in 115 games.

He began the 2009 season with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, and then on May 7, 2009, Paul was called up to the Los Angeles Dodgers to replace Manny Ramirez, who was suspended for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Paul made his Major League debut the same day, grounding into a double play in his one at bat as a pinch hitter against the Washington Nationals. His first major league hit was against the San Francisco Giants three days later, and he hit his first home run against the Florida Marlins on May 15.

Shortly afterwards he was sidelined by a staph infection and placed on the disabled list. While rehabbing at the Dodgers complex in Arizona, he then suffered an ankle injury and spent the rest of the year on the 60-day disabled list.

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube