Six Space Cowboys Named Astros' Organizational All-Stars

Six members of the 2023 Sugar Land Space Cowboys have been named MiLB.com Organizational All-Stars for the Houston Astros as announced by MiLB.com on Monday. The honorees include 1B JJ Matijevic, 2B Pedro León, SS Shay Whitcomb, OF Joey Loperfido, RHP Spencer Arrighetti and LHP Colton Gordon.

Matijevic spent the entire season with Sugar Land, leading the Space Cowboys in doubles (26) and RBI (76) while tying for the team lead in triples (6) and finishing second in runs scored (66), games played (118) and fourth in home runs (18). He ranked second in the Astros’ organization in doubles (26), tied for second in triples, third in RBI and extra-base hits (48), sixth in hits (106) and total bases (192) and eighth in runs scored. Matijevic elected free agency after the end of the 2023 season but stands as the Space Cowboys’ all-time leader in hits, total bases, runs scored, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, at bats and games played.

León completed the best season of his career with Space Cowboys, slashing .244/.343/.435 with 23 doubles, three triples, 21 home runs, 72 RBI, 74 runs scored and 21 stolen bases. He led the team in hits (118), total bases (210) and stolen bases (21), was second in doubles, home runs and RBI and tied for second in walks (63). In the Astros’ organization, León was third in hits, tied for third in doubles and total bases, fourth in RBI, tied for fourth in extra-base hits (47), fifth in home runs, tied for fifth in walks and sixth in runs scored. While splitting time between second base (51 games) and the outfield (79 games), León set career highs in hits, home runs, RBI and runs scored and was one of just 23 players in MiLB with at least 20 doubles, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. León also hit for the first cycle in Space Cowboys’ history on June 24 at Salt Lake City, reaching base all six times and scoring six runs, a new single-game franchise record for runs scored.

Whitcomb spent a majority of his season with the Space Cowboys, playing in 87 games with Sugar Land and hitting .224/.281/.434 with seven doubles, 23 home runs, 66 RBI, 44 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. Despite being promoted on June 6, Whitcomb led the Space Cowboys in home runs and was third in total bases and RBI, trailing only Matijevic and León in both categories, and was tied for sixth in the Pacific Coast League in home runs. Between Double-A Corpus Christi and Sugar Land, Whitcomb slashed a combined .240/.301/.470 with 19 doubles, 35 home runs, 102 RBI, 79 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. He tied for the Minor League lead in home runs and was one of just ten players in MiLB with at least 100 RBI in the 2023 season. Whitcomb became the first Astros’ farm hand to hit at least 35 home runs since George Springer hit 37 in 2013 and is one of just seven Astros’ minor leaguers with at least 100 RBI in a season since 2014. The 25-year-old led the Astros’ Minor League system in home runs, RBI and total bases (253), was second in hits (129) and extra-base hits (129), tied for third in runs scored and was fifth in slugging. It is the second Organizational All-Star honor of Whitcomb’s career after he was named an Astros’ Organizational All-Star in 2021.

Loperfido was promoted to the Space Cowboys on August 15 and appeared in 32 games with Sugar Land, hitting .235/.333/.403 with five doubles, five home runs, 16 RBI, 15 runs scored and four stolen bases. Across three levels, Loperfido slashed a combined .278/.370/.510 with 27 doubles, three triples, 25 home runs, 78 RBI, 79 runs scored and 27 stolen bases, leading the Astros’ system in hits (130), doubles and extra-base hits (55) while finishing second in home runs, RBI and total bases (238), third in slugging, batting average and OPS, tied for third in runs scored, fourth in OBP and walks (65) and fifth in stolen bases. Loperfido was named the Astros’ Minor League Player of the Year by the Astros’ Player Development department as well as garnering the honor from Baseball America. He hit safely in 20 of 31 games he started with Sugar Land and reached base safely in 25 of 32 games. Taken in the seventh round of the 2021 draft out of Duke, Loperfido joined León as one of just 23 Minor League players to register at least 20 doubles, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the 2023 season. This is the second consecutive season Loperfido has been named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star for Houston.

Arrighetti split his season between Double-A Corpus and Sugar Land, making 13 appearances for the Hooks and 15 appearances with the Space Cowboys, 13 of them starts. The righty went 2-5 with a 4.64 ERA with the Space Cowboys, striking out 62 batters over 64.0 innings and holding opponents to a .217 batting average against. He was especially great at Constellation Field in 2023, pitching to a 1.93 ERA in nine appearances, eight starts, at home for Sugar Land, giving up just nine total runs in 42.0 frames of work. In 124.2 innings between both levels, Arrighetti went 9-7 with a 4.40 ERA, striking out 141 batters en route to the Astros’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year honor from the Astros’ Player Development Department. Arrighetti finished second in the Astros’ system in wins, third in strikeouts, innings pitched, batting average against (.217) and games started (21), fourth in WHIP (1.25) and sixth in ERA.

Gordon was promoted to Sugar Land on August 7 and turned in five shutout innings in his debut at El Paso on August 8. In nine appearances, six starts, with the Space Cowboys, Gordon went 3-2 with a 4.63 ERA, striking out 30 batters in 35.0 frames of work. Between Corpus and Sugar Land, Gordon compiled a 7-7 record with a 4.14 ERA, throwing a career-high 128.1 innings and notching 151 strikeouts to lead the Astros’ Minor League system. His 128.1 innings also led the Houston system, and he was tied for the organization lead in games started (24), fourth in batting average against (.233), tied for fourth in wins, fifth in ERA and seventh in WHIP (1.34). It’s the second consecutive season the southpaw has been named an Organizational All-Star for Houston.

The complete list of the Houston Astros MiLB.com Organizational All-Stars can be found here.

*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 2024 by visiting slspacecowboys.com/tickets.