Joey Loperfido and Spencer Arrighetti Named Astros' Minor League Player And Pitcher of the Year

Sugar Land Space Cowboys OF Joey Loperfido and RHP Spencer Arrighetti have been recognized as the Houston Astros’ Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year as announced by the Houston Astros Player Development department on Thursday.

Loperfido was promoted to Sugar Land on August 15 and appeared in 32 games with the Space Cowboys, slashing .235/.333/.403 with five doubles, five home runs, 16 RBI, 15 runs scored and four steals in five attempts. The 24-year-old hit safely in 20 of 31 starts and reached safely in 25 of the 31 contests he started with Sugar Land in 2023.

Selected in the seventh round of the 2021 draft by the Astros out of Duke, Loperfido slashed .278/.370/.510/.880 with 27 doubles, three triples, 25 home runs, 78 RBI, 79 runs scored and 27 stolen bases between High-A Asheville, Double-A Corpus and Sugar Land. He led the Astros’ system in hits (130), extra-base hits (55) and doubles while finishing second in home runs, RBI and total bases (238), third in average, slugging and OPS, tied for third in runs scored, fourth in OBP and walks (65) and fifth in stolen bases. Loperfido was one of just 33 players in Minor League Baseball with at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 2023 and was one of just 23 players to record at least 20 doubles, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.

COMPLIMENTS OF MR. LOPERFIDO 😤 pic.twitter.com/79qIfbMoSh

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) September 22, 2023

Arrighetti made 15 appearances with the Space Cowboys in 2023, 13 starts, going 2-5 with a 4.64 ERA across 64.0 frames, striking out 62 while holding opponents to a .217 batting average against. The righty was exceptional while pitching at Constellation Field this season, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.93 ERA in nine appearances, eight starts, giving up just nine total runs across 42.0 frames. During the Space Cowboys two-week stretch at home from August 16 through 27, Arrighetti made three starts and put together a 13.0 inning scoreless streak, allowing just one total run over 16.0 frames of work.

Taken in the sixth round of the 2021 draft by Houston out of Louisiana, Arrighetti combined to go 9-7 with a 4.40 ERA in 28 appearances, 21 starts, between Double-A Corpus and Sugar Land, posting a 4.40 ERA while hurling 124.2 innings and striking out 141 batters. While throwing a career high in innings, Arrighetti was second in the Astros’ organization in wins and finished third in strikeouts, games started, innings pitched and average against (.217), fourth in WHIP (1.25) and sixth in ERA.

This is the third consecutive season a Space Cowboys’ hurler has been named the Astros’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year after RHP Hunter Brown earned the honor in 2022 and LHP Jonathan Bermúdez was recognized in 2021 in the first year Sugar Land was the Triple-A affiliate of the Astros. It is the second straight season the Astros’ Minor League Player of the Year has suited up for the Space Cowboys after C Yainer Diaz was named Houston’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2022.

*ABOUT THE SUGAR LAND SPACE COWBOYS: *

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros and compete in the Pacific Coast League. They began play as the Astros Triple-A affiliate in 2021 and began playing under the Space Cowboys brand in 2022. The Space Cowboys play at Constellation Field, located at the corner of Hwy-6 and US-90 Alternate in Sugar Land, Texas. Follow the team on Twitter (@SLSpaceCowboys), Instagram (@slspacecowboys), Facebook (SLSpaceCowboys) and their official website (slspacecowboys.com). Fans can purchase full-season and partial-season plans for the 2024 season by visiting slspacecowboys.com/tickets.