Mar 15, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Joey Gallo (33) throws to first base against the Oakland Athletics at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Chicks dig the long ball. At least, that’s what we learned from that Nike commercial from the 90s in which Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, jealous of the attention that Mark McGwire is getting from the ladies, bulk up and work on their hitting.
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By that logic, Joey Gallo must be a very popular guy. Despite a nine games without hitting a home run, the Rangers’ huge, 6-foot-5, slugging third-base prospect, launched two on Friday to give him an even 20 home runs for the year, grabbing a share of the minor league lead. Last season, Gallo won the Joe Bauman Trophy for hitting the most home runs in minor league baseball (40) and is looking to do the same this year despite fierce competition from the Yankees’ Peter O’Brien who has also hit 20 between the Florida State League and Eastern League.
Playing for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the High-A Carolina League, Gallo, still only 20, has become one of the most fearsome sluggers in baseball. This season, in addition to mashing balls out of parks, he’s also taking more walks than he ever has before and making the most of the pitches he’s getting in the strike zone. Gallo has an incredible 20.2% walk rate and has even improved his strikeout rate, dropping it from 37.0% last year to a (relatively) miniscule 26.9%. In fact, in exactly half as many plate appearances as he had last year in Class-A Hickory, Gallo has three fewer walks in 2014 than in 2013.
Yanks Go Yard
Gallo’s also hitting a very healthy .320 (with a .457 on-base percentage and an insane .750 slugging percentage) which shows that he’s definitely getting the most out of the pitches that he’s getting to hit.
Another way of seeing how dominant he’s been this year is the fact that he’s already won three Carolina League Player of the Week awards, winning just two Player of the Week awards over his full season (hitting 38 home runs) with Hickory last year.
Gallo’s huge day on Friday didn’t just feature two home runs. One of them was a grand slam and Gallo added a walk to go 2/4 with seven RBI and three runs scored.
What’s scary is that Gallo’s May was even better than his April. What could the Carolina League be in for as the weather (and Joey Gallo) heats up?