BALTIMORE—The Blue Jays intend on taking a patient approach with the majority of the players they acquired prior to this year’s trade deadline, but one they aren’t waiting around for is Joey Loperfido.
Of the 13 prospects the Jays added over the last week, Loperfido was the only one added to the big-league roster. He is expected to be joined later this season by starting pitcher Jake Bloss, outfielder Jonatan Clase and possibly infielder Will Wagner.
Loperfido made his Jays debut Wednesday in a 10-4 loss to the Orioles. He went 1-for-5 with a single and a pair of strikeouts while playing eight innings in left field.
“I feel like I can impact games in a variety of ways, whether it’s on the basepaths, with some power, or getting on base and making things happen,” Loperfido said when asked to describe his game. “I just try and have good at-bats when I’m up there. I think that’s the name of the game, stacking good things and good at-bats on top of each other.”
The 25-year-old Loperfido, who was acquired from the Houston Astros as part of the deal for left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, was a late bloomer. He was taken in the seventh round of the 2021 draft and it wasn’t until 2023 when the Pennsylvania native broke out with 25 home runs and an .880 on-base-plus-slugging percentage across three levels.
That success carried into this season as Loperfido slugged 13 homers in 39 games for Triple-A Sugarland before he was promoted to the big leagues. Success in the majors has been harder to come by; he hit .236 with two home runs and a below-average .658 OPS in 38 games for the Astros.
Loperfido also stole 27 bases in the minors last season and nine this year. The mix of speed and power was enough for the Jays to use him as their No. 2 hitter in the series finale against the Orioles.
“He is coming into the power as he is getting a little bit older and I think it’s an exciting combination of both of those things,” Jays manager John Schneider said while referencing Loperfido’s speed. “I think it’s time for him to let that translate at the big-league level. He’s obviously done it at Triple-A, so looking forward to seeing what it’s all about.”
Defensively, Loperfido played just about everywhere on his road to the majors but he’s most comfortable in the outfield. While most of his reps with the Jays will come in left field, he’ll also serve as the backup to Daulton Varsho in centre and he could become an option for right field as well.
Loperfido was ranked the Astros’ third-best prospect by FanGraphs and he was listed at No. 13 by MLB Pipeline. He is expected to be a priority player down the stretch for the Jays as they carefully evaluate his skill set to determine if he should become a starting player next year or someone who will be used off the bench.
“He came into his strength later than the average player his age and has already had a ton of minor-league success for someone who has continued to get better,” Jays general manager Ross Atkins said when asked what the Jays were hoping to see from Loperfido. “I think it’s coming into his athleticism and strength and learning how to maximize it for him.”
Loperfido’s debut with the Jays wasn’t very memorable, but it came during a game most of his teammates would rather forget. From the club’s perspective, hopefully the same won’t be said about the next two months.
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