Texas Rangers: Joey Gallo’s game has transcended far beyond raw ability

Joey Gallo’s raw ability was always remarkable, but the Texas Rangers’ star has gone to new depths to make himself one of the top players in MLB.

Bright spots are few and far between for the Texas Rangers amidst a ho-hum 3-5 start; however, slugging outfielder Joey Gallo is one of them. The 6’5”, 250-pounder is hitting .310 with three home runs, eight RBI, a .429 OBP, .724 SLG, and 225 OPS+. He leads the team in every offensive category except triples.

Gallo has picked up from where he left off before a broken hamate bone cut his 2019 campaign short. In just 70 games in 2019, he launched 22 homers and recorded a .389 OBP and .986 OPS. He was among the league leaders in all slugging categories and kept pace with a .253 batting average. Had the injury not intervened, Gallo may have ridden his momentum to MVP candidacy at the season’s end.

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He was a changed player from 2018 to 2019, as evidenced by a 5% increase in walk rate and an 8% decrease in chase rate. His batting average improved by 47 points, his OBP by 77 points, and his SLG by 100 points.

Through eight games in 2020, he appears to have taken further steps to become an even tougher out for opposing pitchers, as his chase rate is down another 5% to 19.1%, and his contact rate is up 3%.

Plate discipline has been an ongoing focus for Joey Gallo and his mentors. He can hit the ball as far and as hard as anyone in MLB, but the goal is to reduce the number of at-bats between hard and far hits. The more pitches he swings at in the strike zone, the more frequently he’ll put a world of hurt on the baseball. Of course, laying off pitches outside of the strike zone is a key part of the equation as well.

He’s doing exactly those things, which is evolving him into a greater force at the plate.

Pitchers are treating him more carefully than ever, and Gallo is recognizing. He’s laying off the junk and waiting patiently for a pitch he can punish. If the pitcher misses his spot, Gallo will either square the ball up or watch it out of the strike zone to gain count leverage.

He showed us Sunday what he can do to mistake pitches. Down 0-2 in the count, Gallo sent a fastball from Giants’ left-hander Tyler Anderson 422 feet to right-center for a round-tripper. He hit six home runs in two-strike counts last season; he’s hit two in two-strike counts already this season.

Joey Gallo looks very comfortable in the batter’s box, against right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers. His ability to hit southpaws separates him from nearly every other left-handed hitter in MLB.

Check out his splits against each arm side last season:

• Vs. RHPs: .217 BA | .372 OBP | .530 SLG | .902 OPS
• Vs. LHPs: .333 BA | .427 OBP | .747 SLG | 1.174 OPS

Good luck finding a lefty bat that matches up better against a lefty arm. Gallo’s numbers against lefties put even Christian Yelich’s and Cody Bellinger’s to shame. Yet, for some reason, opposing managers still insist on tapping their left wrist when summoning a reliever to pitch to him. Gabe Kapler must regret that move from Sunday, as it led to his team being down by four runs instead of one in the 7th inning.

Gallo’s talent is rare and apparent, and Texas Rangers fans, writers, coaches, and players love talking about it. But it’s his composure and confidence that have caught my eye this season.

He knows he is the club’s best player, and by a long shot. He knows the Rangers’ offense rides or dies with him. As a result, he’s displaying the kind of swagger and belief that you typically see from the league’s most profound players. Gallo seems to have a chip on his shoulder – he’s out to prove he’s more than an all-or-nothing hitter, and that he’s one of the top performers in the game.

He will do his best to keep his team relevant, but if he can’t accomplish that trying task, at least his superiority will stick out to MLB fans across the country – and perhaps the world. A more marketable Gallo makes for a more marketable Texas Rangers ball club.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it – the Texas Rangers are Joey Gallo’s team. He is the main attraction. He satisfies fans’ materialistic desires by producing mammoth home runs and stunning exit velocities, while vastly improving his team through elite hitting and stellar defense.

At age 26, he already has two 40+ home run seasons. He also hit a game-winning home run on the national stage of last year’s all-star game, his first all-star appearance of what should be many more to come.

The Texas Rangers have themselves a gem, and they better make every effort to secure that gem for seasons to come. Gallo is arbitration-eligible for the next two years, but Texas should have a long-term offer on the table for him within that span. If they don’t, then they will have spoiled their most promising talent since Pudge Rodriguez (who happened to play 13 years with Texas).

For additional, less-lengthy insight on Major League Baseball, give me a follow on Twitter @tkoch_4. Thanks for reading!