The Houston Astros are shaking up their roster amidst a slow start to the season. The team plans to call up one of their top prospects to the big leagues before their series opens against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday. The Astros will be calling up Joey Loperfido, their highly touted outfielder and first baseman. This was first reported by Ari Alexander of KPRC 2.
BREAKING:#Astros OF/1B prospect Joey Loperfido is getting called up to the major leagues, multiple sources tell KPRC 2. pic.twitter.com/f4QqHIt7b9
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) April 28, 2024
Joey Loperfido Call Up Much Deserved
According to MLB Pipeline, Loperfido is the No. 6 prospect in the Astros system. He first came on fans’ radar during spring training when he hit .382/.488/.588 in 41 plate appearances. He built on that spring training with his hot start in Triple-A.
The outfielder/first baseman leads the entirety of professional baseball with 13 home runs in just 25 games. He owns a .287 batting average and 1.106 OPS on the season for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. There is concern about Loperfido’s ability to make contact, as he has a 30.8% strikeout rate this season. That figure was a bit higher in 2023 at 32.6%. However, with his 12% walk rate, he should get on base enough and hit with enough power to stick in the big leagues. The Astros are looking for a spark for a team that’s in the middle of the pack for scoring runs and home runs.
The Potential Astros Roster Move
Calling up Joey Loperfido comes at a time when the Astros are in need of more production out of first base. The Astros are dead last in production from their pair of first base options. Veteran Jose Abreu and Jon Singleton have disappointed in many ways this season. Abreu and Singleton have given the offense next to nothing. As a pair, they have zero home runs, a .408 OPS, and a 22 wRC+. That’s good for the worst in the league on all counts. Veteran Jose Abreu has continued his struggles from last year, hitting just .099 with an OPS of .269 and a -21 wRC+ over 77 plate appearances this season. Singleton has faired a little better, hitting .238 with an OPS of .605. However, that won’t cut it if the Astros foresee a bounce back from their 9-19 start.
The Astros must make a roster move to get Loperfido onto the active and 40-man rosters. Calling up Joey Loperfido would mean the Astros roster would need a little shuffle. Likely, Abreu would not face the chopping block for this move. He’s owed the rest of this season and next at a $19.5 million commitment. Abreu represents veteran leadership from which Loperfido could learn. He would also have the chance to go on a tear for the latter half of the season, as he did in 2023.
Considering all of this, it would make sense for the team to part ways with Singleton. He hits from the same side as Loperfido and doesn’t come with the same financial commitment Abreu does.
Once calling up Joey Loperfido is official, he could work his way into the lineup in both the outfield and infield because of his versatility. That would allow the Astros to spell Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers, who have also struggled at the plate.
No matter how he impacts the lineup, with the production from Abreu, Singleton, McCormick, and Meyers, he’d help lift the Astros even with a league-average bat.
