The Astros swept the Rockies in Mexico City on April 28 but Houston is still starting at a deficit in the AL West. At 9-19, the Astros will look towards Joey Loperfido to give their offense a spark. The slugger is reportedly headed to Houston after a strong start at Sugar Land, which saw him hit 13 home runs over his first month of 2024.
A Look at Loperfido
Astros prospect Joey Loperfido produced mixed results over his first three seasons at Duke. But after posting a 1.085 OPS in his COVID junior season in 2021, Houston drafted Loperfido in the seventh round that year.
The move proved to be a good one for the ‘Stros. Loperfido posted a .900 OPS in 2022 across 108 games, then hit 25 home runs and stole 27 bases last year. This season, Loperfido got off to a sizzling start in Triple-A, where he hit 13 home runs over his first 101 at-bats to lead the circuit.
Reports indicated that Loperfido has gotten stronger since going pro, which has likely played a role in him finding his home run stroke. He’s also got a calm, level-headed approach at the plate. He keeps his head still at the dish and will draw walks. Loperfido walked 16 times over 25 games in Triple-A this season.
However, scouting reports — and video — also indicated that Loperfido has a longer swing, something that can be an issue with handling velocity.
This season in Triple-A, Loperfido saw 37 fastballs of 95 MPH or greater velocity. Five were swinging strikes and two were hits, one of which was a home run off Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter. (stats as of April 28).
Defensively, Loperfido saw the bulk of his time this season in center. However, the 24-year-old played seven games at first in 2024 and does have considerable experience at the position.
Loperfido will reportedly join the Astros for Houston’s upcoming series against the Guardians.
Analysis
The move to call up Loperfido comes amidst a slow start for the Astros. Normally atop the league in several offensive categories for years, Houston is still there to begin 2024. The Astros owned the league’s fifth-best OPS (.740) to begin the season, thanks in large part to strong starts by Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez.
However, several other notable contributors have struggled. Alex Bregman has just five extra-base hits and no home runs over the first month, while Jake Meyers (.737 OPS) and Chas McCormick (.603 OPS) have produced mixed results. Not to mention, Jose Abreu is hitting just .099/.156/.113 on the year.
As mentioned earlier, Loperfido spent most of his time down in Triple-A this year in the outfield. But with the struggles of Jose Abreu this year, Loperfido may get considerable time at first.
Fantasy Outlook
We wrote earlier in April that Loperfido put himself on the fantasy radar thanks to his hot start. That remains the case.
Loperfido offers a good mix of speed and power. Be mindful, though, that the infielder/outfielder will likely be only available for the outfield in fantasy leagues at the onset. Yahoo! leagues, for example, only list him eligible for the outfield.