Prior to the 2014 season, third baseman Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers’ farm system was a unanimous top 100 prospect nationwide by MLB.com, Baseball America and baseballprospectus.com. Then he bashed 42 home runs and drove in 106 between High-A and Double-A in only 439 at-bats.
Looking at the 2015 preseason rankings, MLB.com ranks Gallo ninth overall. But will he do enough to reach Arlington this season? Or rather, can the Rangers possibly resist the urge to see him match up against big league pitching? The answer is in fact yes to both queries.
Texas Rangers
Gallo has prolific power. Two years in a row he has equalled or surpassed the 40 home runs mark in the minors. Even in his first year of semi-pro ball at age 18, he clubbed 22 long balls in only 206 at-bats. That gives him 104 total already in his three-year minor league career. The record is supposedly held by Hector Espino, but is not well documented. More concretely, the leader on mostly American soil is Buzz Arlett (432) or Mike Hessman (417). Gallo’s pace is remarkable, but being in the conversation with those two men would mean he failed to live up to his expectations because he would have to be playing minor league ball well into his 30’s.
Regardless, Gallo’s home run every 10.5 ABs is a remarkable feat. Last year in MLB — contrary to popular belief in Nelson Cruz — Chris Carter of the Houston Astros led the league in AB/HR ratio for all players win a minimum of 500 ABs. Carter went yard 37 times in only 507 ABs, equalling a rate of 13.7. Cruz’s number was only 15.3, while Giancarlo Stanton actually placed second with a mark of 14.6. Either way, you get the point. Gallo can hit the ball very hard and very far, very frequently.
What else can he do? On the 20-80 scouting scale for contact, Gallo’s mark is only a 45. Experts feel he will have difficulty making consistent contact in the Show. More recently baseball fans saw what raw minor league power amounted to for Jack Cust in his MLB career — only 2107 ABs and a lifetime .242 average. Gallo is also a below average base runner with poor range at third, though he does sport a rather strong arm.
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Aside from his career .263 minor league average, what else is holding Gallo back? Oh, just Adrian Beltre, a potential Hall of Fame third baseman. True, he turns 36 in April, but Beltre seems to get more refined with age. All four of his All-Star nods came after the age of 30, as did three of his four Silver Slugger’s and half of his four Gold Glove’s. Even last year in his age 35 season, Beltre managed a .324-19-77 line in a thin Rangers lineup. An eventual move to designated hitter could be in the cards for him, but there’s no rush. He’s under contract through the 2016 season. As far as Rangers management or fans should be concerned, Beltre will be their everyday third base attendant for all of 2015, barring injury.
For this reason and because the Rangers will start 2015 off healthy again, they have other superior options at DH too. If Prince Fielder plays first, Mitch Moreland can DH, and vice versa. Ryan Rua and veteran Ryan Ludwick will also get looks.
In Arlington this year, it’s best if Joey Gallo does not make an appearance. If he does, it means the club has either seen a surplus of injuries again, or the team is not being competitive in the second half. Gallo is yet to hit Triple-A pitching, so there’s no rush for the 21-year old.
GM Jeff Banister should allow him time to hone his skills and improve his swing all season long with the Round Rock Express. It’s not rocket science, but a .232 average and a 39.5 percent strikeout rate in Double-A will not translate to success against Felix Hernandez or Sonny Gray in the AL West.