Between his time on the Texas Rangers, and now the New York Yankees, Joey Gallo is one of Major League Baseball’s most blatant examples of a three outcome player. Gallo has only broken above a .250 season batting average once in his career (in 2019) and strikes out and walks a ridiculous amount, having 111 walks and 213 strikeouts in 2021 (leading the league in Ks). Yet, he also somehow managed to hit 38 home runs despite his .199 batting average in 2021 alongside those strikeouts.
So, the question remains, is Joey Gallo of the New York Yankees overrated?
Let’s break down his offensive metrics just a little more.
wRC+ scales the number of runs that a player has per plate appearance compared to the league average of 100, meaning that if 100 is an average player, below 100 is underperforming and the wide range above 100 is higher than average.
When you consider that the top 20 offensive players in 2021 all had a wRC+ above 135, and Joey Gallo has generally posted numbers between 108 and 125, beyond his great season in 2019, Joey Gallo is just a little above average, falling around 45th in the stat for the league in 2021.
What this really means is that because he really only hits home runs or strikes out, he depends on those home runs to be clutch, and compared to his regular batting average, his BABIP was substantially higher at .246 for 2021.
Offensively, Gallo really isn’t overrated … but it highly depends on who you ask and what you consider overrated. Gallo isn’t being paid an exorbitant amount for his production averaging around $10 million a year with the New York Yankees right now.
When he was traded from the Rangers, the Yankees really needed some lefty bats in their lineup and a productive outfielder as many of their everyday outfielders were very injury-prone.
Looking at his defensive metrics, his OAA when he’s in the outfield is respectable, ranking eighth for 2021 and he ranked fourth in DRS among outfielders in 2021.
In my personal opinion, determining whether or not a player is overrated is related to the amount of money they’re making compared to production and fan hype.
Joey Gallo is making $10 million a year, nowhere close to the top earners in the league right now, and has value both offensively and defensively. He strikes out a ton, but still is in the top 10 for WAR among outfielders. His batting average may sit below the Mendoza line much of the time, but he has a very aggressive plate approach and is clutch when he needs to be, getting runners home.
Players such as Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds and Marcus Semien of the Texas Rangers are currently making much more money than Gallo and performing at a much lower caliber. Yankee fans, if anything, get frustrated faster with Gallo’s high K percentage, rather than overhype him.
There is just enough hype around Gallo. However, it is still very weird to see him without a beard.
Gallo’s fly ball rate has been struggling while at Yankee Stadium, so time will tell in terms of whether or not he can adjust and hit balls out, instead of just up.