SUGAR LAND, TX – Sugar Land Space Cowboys INF/OF Joey Loperfido has been named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week for the week of April 8 through 14 as announced by Minor League Baseball on Monday.
Loperfido hit safely in all six games during the week in Albuquerque, going 11-for-26 in 34 plate appearances. The left-handed hitter slashed .423/.559/1.077/1.636 with two doubles, five home runs, 13 RBI, 14 runs scored, six walks, a stolen base and was hit by a pair of pitches. He recorded multi-hit efforts in four of six games and homered in three of six contests in the Space Cowboys six-game set against the Isotopes.
During the week, Loperfido led the Pacific Coast League in home runs, RBI, total bases (28) and runs scored, was tied for the league-lead in extra-base hits (7) with fellow Space Cowboys INF/OF Trey Cabbage and finished second in slugging, OPS and hits (11) while clocking in with the second-most walks in the league during the week, including an intentional walk in his final plate appearance of the series on Sunday with the contest tied.
The 24-year-old’s signature moment of the week came on Friday night when he hit a career-high three home runs, including homering twice in the seventh inning. Loperfido’s third home run was a grand slam, the first grand slam of his career, giving him seven RBI on the night, a new single-game career high for Loperfido. It was the sixth three-homer game in Space Cowboys history and gave Loperfido nine homers on the season at the time, good for the Minor League lead.
Through 14 games in 2024, Loperfido is slashing .333/.429/.895/1.324 with two doubles, 10 home runs, 24 RBI, 21 runs scored, nine walks and a pair of stolen bases in two attempts. Following Sunday, Loperfido leads Minor League Baseball in home runs (10), total bases (51), extra-base hits (12) and runs scored (21) and is second in RBI (24), fourth in slugging (.895) and tied for seventh in hits (19).
Originally taken in the 7th round of the 2021 Draft by the Houston Astros out of Duke, this is Loperfido’s second career Player of the Week honor after he was recognized as the South Atlantic League Player of the Week on August 14, 2022. The reigning Astros’ Minor League Player of the Year has earned Postseason All-Star nods in back-to-back seasons after being named a Carolina League Postseason All-Star in 2022 and a Texas League Postseason All-Star in 2023. He is the fourth Space Cowboys player to be named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week, joining Jeremy Peña (September 27, 2021), Justin Dirden (May 8, 2023) and Will Wagner (September 25, 2023).
Following their series in Albuquerque, the Space Cowboys return to Constellation Field on Tuesday night to begin a six-game series against the Round Rock Express. RHP Misael Tamarez is scheduled to take the hill in the opener for a 6:35 pm CT first pitch in Sugar Land.