Mario Joseph Loperfido (born May 11, 1999 in Philadelphia, PA) is an American professional baseball outfielder and infielder who plays for the Toronto Blue Jays, and previously played for the Houston Astros. As per Geneanet.org, the surname Loperfido hails from the Puglia (Matera, Rutigliano) area of southern Italy.

Loperfido attended Haddonfield Memorial High School in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and played college baseball at Duke University. In 2019, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the seventh round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.

Loperfido made his professional debut in 2021 with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers and spent 2022 with Fayetteville and Asheville Tourists. He started 2023 with Asheville, and was promoted to the Corpus Christi Hooks after eight games. He won the Astro’s Minor League Player of the Year award in 2023 after slashing .278/.370/.510 with 55 extra-base hits across three levels of affiliated ball. The Athletic ranked him as Houston’s No. 6 prospect before the 2024 season.

After leading all of professional baseball with 13 HR, and being named minor league player of the week in April 2024, Joey was called up to the Houston Astros on 4/29/24 to replace struggling Jose Abreu at first base. Watch as Joey makes a spectacular catch vs. the Minnesota Twins on 7/5/24.

Joey was traded to the Blue Jays along with Will Wagner, the Astros No. 13 prospect for left-hander Yusei Kikuchi.

(excerpted from Wikipedia, BR Bullpen, Baseball Almanac)