Otto Lopez

Otto Ariel Lopez (born October 1, 1998) is a Dominican-Canadian professional baseball infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Otto Lopez
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 51
Infielder / Outfielder
Born: (1998-10-01) October 1, 1998
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 17, 2021, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.600
Home runs0
Runs batted in3
Teams

Professional career

Lopez signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as an international free agent on July 4, 2016.[1] In 2017, he appeared in 51 games for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, and recorded a .275 batting average, one home run, and 15 runs batted in (RBI).[2] Lopez played the 2018 season with the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays and the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians. He played in 58 total games and hit a combined .308 with three home runs, 28 RBI, and 14 stolen bases.[2]

Lopez played his first full season of minor-league baseball in 2019, appearing in 108 games for the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts and batted .324 with five home runs, 50 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.[2] In the offseason, Lopez played 13 games for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The 2020 minor-league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to the Leones during the 2020–21 offseason, appearing in 18 games and batting .254.[2]

On November 20, 2020, Lopez was added to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[3] He split time during the 2021 season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, batting a combined .315 in 113 games.[1] On August 17, 2021, Lopez made his major-league debut against the Washington Nationals, striking out in his only at bat.[4] During the 2021–22 offseason he again played in LIDOM, batting .231 in 17 games for Gigantes del Cibao.[2]

Lopez spent most of the 2022 season with Buffalo.[1] He collected his first major-league hit on October 1, 2022, his 24th birthday, against the Boston Red Sox.[5]

Personal

Lopez was born in the Dominican Republic. He was raised in Montreal for many years after his family moved to Canada, where he acquired Canadian citizenship, when he was a young age due to his father getting a teaching job.[6]

References
  1. "Otto Lopez States, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  2. "Otto Lopez Minor & Winter League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  3. Adams, Steve (November 20, 2020). "Blue Jays Add 5 Players To 40-Man Roster". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  4. "Otto Lopez 2021 Batting Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  5. @BlueJays (October 1, 2022). "The kid has his first career @MLB hit!" (Tweet). Retrieved October 1, 2022 – via Twitter.
  6. "The Blue Jays have recalled Otto Lopez from Triple-A". bluejaysnation.com. August 17, 2021.
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