I think Gallo is a very good comp. At this point Gallo’s MLB career (wild swings averaging 1-2 war/yr) is probably a ~60th percentile outcome for Loperfido. But Loperfido could very well develop a bit more and become a much more valuable big leaguer than Gallo has been.
He has five homers in five games at ABQ and 5 in 8 games at sugar land and round rock in 7 more plate appearancesthan he has had in ABQ. In the three homer game, the average exit velocity of the homers was about 108. The park helps, but he is just crushing the ball all over the place right now.
I don’t see them as similar hitters at all. Gallo had a 22% SwStr in his age 25 season in AAA which is like double Loperfido’s. He also has much more raw power. Maybe the automatic strike zone is driving Loperfido’s K problems?
I am not sure the raw power gap is that wide after seeing Loperfido’s exit velos this season. But yes, I agree that Loperfido has a bit less power and is a less strikeout prone (although his AAA k rate is similar to Gallo’s). But in terms of overall value I think Loperfido projects to be a similar player to Gallo: high k rate, high power, defensive value at 1B/OF (Gallo could also play 3B, Loperfido can also play 2B). Loperfido has higher upside than that outcome but so did Gallo as a prospect.
I see Loperfido’s K rate in the mid-20s once he settles down. I think the big question for him is how often can he lift the ball as he tends to keep it on the ground too much at times.
Loperfido’s k rate is in the mid 30’s thru ~200 pa in AAA. What makes you think that will come down once he’s in the majors?
His projections had him in the mid to upper to 20s in the majors entering this season which is reasonable and matches his SwStr this season in AAA. I don’t think he’s so passive that he’s going to run a >30% K rate in the majors, and instead this is likely just a blip. How many players even are there that have a SwStr that is 12% or less and has a K rate over 30% across a full season?
It seems to me that in a few games Loperfido has struck out 3 or 4 times and that's what's driving up his percentage. But y'all know far more than I do when it comes to prospects. Anyways, I'm pretty sure Loperfido can't be worse than Abreu.
I know SwStr is heavily correlated to k rate but I don’t know what if anything might cause a sustained variance. I hope you’re right. With the power he’s shown, I feel like Loperfido with 25% k rate is a 3+ win player.
With his double to lead off the 1st inning, Kenni Gomez has a hit in 8 of Fayetteville's first 9 games (today is game 9).
Gallo has real personality and confidence issues- bad personality to be a professional baseball player. The New York Yankees were warned - Gallo couldn’t handle the DFW or DC media, no way in hell he would in NY. The guy freaked out when a hitting coach would suggest changes.
In George's full 2 seasons of MiLB action he struck 317 total times. Player's get to the bigs and adjust. You want to look at guy, look at the adjustments Jose Siri has made since getting full time ABs in the majors. Still pissed we sent him and Teoscar away as ****ing throw-ins.
The more of this kid I see, the more I am in disbelief that he wasn’t even on some teams boards. Rangers, Astros, Braves and Dodgers had him on their boards and I think they all thought he was their deep sleeper. Long way to go - but very young, very loud tools and strong love of baseball.
