HOUSTON -- Considering the struggles the Astros have had generating any kind of offense at first base this season, it's hard to ignore the gaudy numbers being put up by Joey Loperfido, the organization's No. 6-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline. Loperfido, who made a push to make the club out of Spring Training, has carried his hot bat into the regular season. A left-handed hitter, Loperfido went 3-for-7 with three homers and seven RBIs, including a grand slam, in Triple-A Sugar Land's 16-2 win against Albuquerque on Friday. He was playing first base. "I've never hit three before in one game," Loperfido said. "I think those kinds of things happen on nights you're not really thinking about it too much, or thinking about anything too much." In 50 at-bats this year, Loperfido is slashing .320/.390/.880 (1.270 OPS) with nine home runs and 22 RBIs in 12 games. He's started seven games in center field, one in left and four at first base, a position the Astros told him at the end of spring they wanted to him to specifically work on. |
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"I'm one of those guys that likes to check and call managers and hitting coaches just to keep track of our players, and obviously, he got off to a really hot start," Astros manager Joe Espada said following Friday's game. "We're keeping track of him and many other players. But it's nice the fact he continues to swing the bat well through Spring Training and has carried that into Triple-A. That's a really good sign for Joey." The ball flies at Albuquerque, but Loperfido crushed three pitches Friday. He hit a homer in the fourth inning that traveled a Statcast-projected 420 feet and came off his bat at 104 mph. Loperfido hit two homers in Sugar Land's nine-run seventh. The first one traveled 440 and left his bat at 113.9 mph and the other one traveled 416 feet and had a 105.3 mph exit velocity. Loperfido slashed .382/.488/.588 with seven RBIs, a stolen base, seven walks and 13 strikeouts in 41 Grapefruit League plate appearances this spring, but there wasn't a spot for him on the big league roster. His production was a credit to the work he put in with Triple-A hitting coach Aaron Westlake prior to the spring. |
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"What I didn't want to do was put any of that added pressure on myself," he said. "I didn't want to say, 'You need to get off to this start, you need to be hitting .300,' or whatever, I kind of just wanted to play, give myself the freedom to go compete. Obviously, work hard at the things I wanted to get better at, and the things that will help get me to the big leagues." Loperfido saw the most playing time last season in center, and Espada said during Spring Training that he saw Loperfido as a center fielder. He also split time in 2023 among left field, right field, second base and first base. He gets as many reps at first as he can daily during batting practice and early work. The Astros haven't gotten much production from first basemen José Abreu and Jon Singleton. Entering Saturday, Houston's .380 OPS at first base was the lowest in the Major Leagues. But Loperfido isn't about to start thinking about what's going on in Houston. "I think you [can't] let yourself kind of get sucked into that. Regardless if things are going good or bad, you've just got to be ready when that time comes," he said. "If you're looking for it too much or trying to time it up yourself, I think you just do yourself a disservice. [I'm] just trying to stay locked in. Obviously, if you do well, that's possible, but I'm just trying to stay present here." |
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During Thursday's loss to the Royals, Hunter Brown became the first Astros starter in history to allow 11 hits without completing the first inning. Who holds the team record for most runs allowed by a starter without finishing the first inning? A) Woody Williams
B) Jose Lima
C) Jake Odorizzi
D) Jason Jennings |
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On Monday, each team -- players, managers and coaches – will wear jersey No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson on the league's annual Jackie Robinson Day. The 42 will be in Dodger blue, regardless of the team's primary colors. Additionally, the players, managers, coaches and umpires will have a "42" side patch on their caps and "42" logo socks. Here's how else the Astros are marking Jackie Robinson Day: - The Astros Foundation distributed 100 copies of the book "I Never Had It Made," an autobiography written by Jackie Robinson, to high school students from Mickey Leland College Prep and students from the Astros MLB Youth Academy. Those students wrote an essay on Robinson and are invited to Monday's game, which includes a special pregame reception in Robinson's honor.
- During a pregame reception held in the 42 Room at Minute Maid Park (a meeting space that celebrates the legacy of Jackie Robinson), the students will get a chance to hear from J.C. Hartman, Houston's first Black Major Leaguer, who played for the Colt .45s from 1962-63. The students will also hear from Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars and assistant GM Gavin Dickey during the reception. There will also be a celebration of Hartman's 90th birthday.
- Hartman will throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Monday. A portion of the proceeds from Monday's Share2Care 50/50 raffle will go to the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
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D) Jennings. He allowed 11 runs, eight hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning against the Padres on July 29, 2007. |
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