Joey Loperfido is being called up.
The Houston Astros will promote the highly-regarded prospect to the Major League roster prior to Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians. Astros General Manager Dana Brown made the official announcement on Monday.
The 24-year-old was off to a strong start to the 2024 season at Triple-A Sugar Land, where he was hitting .287 with 13 home runs, 27 RBI, and a 1.106 OPS in 25 games for the Space Cowboys.
Loperfido currently leads all of minor league baseball in home runs, total bases (72), and runs scored (31), while ranking tied for third in extra-base hits (17), fifth in slugging (.713), and tied for sixth in RBI.
Loperfido also had a strong Spring Training stint with the big league club, in which he hit .382 with five doubles, seven RBI, and a 1.076 OPS in 18 games.
The left-handed hitting outfielder and first baseman is currently ranked as the Astros No. 6 prospect per MLB.com. He was originally a seventh-round pick out of Duke in the June 2021 Draft. Loperfido has played parts of four seasons in the Astros minor league system, including a strong 2023 campaign when he was named the Astros Minor League Player of the Year.
Houston will host Cleveland in the first of a three-game series on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. All of the exciting action can be heard on News Talk 98.5 FM — The Talk of Acadiana. Astro Launch begins at 6:10 and first pitch is set for 6:40 p.m.