The Future: Joey Loperfido

Part 2 - Mr. Versatility

Nov 10, 2023

The Future

Most of the time when I look at the Astros top prospects on MLB.com I’m dubious of the “ETA” estimates listed for various players.

If you look right now, it’ll show several that have 2023 as their ETA even though they didn’t appear to be close to seeing time at Minute Maid Park.

With this in mind, I reached out to Kenny Van Doren of Astros Future (highly recommend their podcast) for players that have the potential to help the Astros in 2024.

No one knows more about Astros prospects than Kenny.

This is the 2nd in a series on Astros minor leaguers Kenny brought to my attention.

The Prospect - Joey Loperfido

A left-handed bat and right-handed thrower, Loperfido is a 24-year-old native of Philadelphia and a 7th-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft out of Duke University where he slashed .317/.419/.488 in 635 collegiate at-bats.

Loperfido has a somewhat unusual versatility, playing center, right, first and second base in the minors in 2023, which saw the prospect play at three different levels across the Astros system.

After a two-week stint with the A+ Asheville Tourists, Loperfido spent the majority of the summer in Corpus with the Hooks before being promoted to AAA Sugar Land in mid-August.

In his stint with the Space Cowboys, Loperfido played mostly center (17 starts) and right (12), with a couple of games at first base and none at second base.

A .282 career MiLB hitter, Loperfido struggled at times offensive in AAA, slashing .235/.333/.403 in his 119 at-bats at that level.

That said, he tore up Double-A pitching to the tune of .296/.392/.548 with 19 homers and 57 RBI in 314 at-bats.

Scouting Report

Loperfido is the Astros 6th best prospect according the MLB.com and the Scouting Report for Loperfido reflects a below-average (45) overall prospect, whose versatility may not be as extensive in the Major Leagues.

The one category that Loperfido is + in is “Run”, which is interesting for a guy listed at 6’3 and 220 pounds.

Across his professional career, Loperfido has stolen 60 bases in 75 attempts, including 4 of 5 in AAA.

That’s the good news. More concerning is his strikeout rate (32.6% in AAA) and this evaluation of his defense and versatility:

He's an average defender with fringy arm strength in center field and a bit better suited for left. He played first and second base in his first two years at Duke and again in 2022, but he doesn't fit the power profile at first and he's not smooth at second.

At least from this evaluation, it sounds like a replacement-level left-fielder, who could, if needed, play center.

Conclusion

Considering the options ahead of Loperfido I’m struggling to imagine him contributing as other than a replacement player.

The scouting report does discuss an overhaul of his swing and improving his quality of contact, so there is hope that more seasoning at AAA will lead to improvement in those areas and improved chances of contributing at the MLB level.