Texas Rangers Joey Gallo Will Not Be the Franchise Savior

Remember back during the late 1990’s, when PED fueled sluggers roamed the baseball landscape, how home runs were the draw to the game? With players like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa hitting balls further than ever before, the phrase “Chicks dig the long ball” became a part of the vernacular of every baseball fan. After all, the home run chase may well have saved baseball in the eyes of quite a few fans.

Scouts and front office personnel, much like the female fans in the aforementioned advertisement, also love the long ball. Seeing prodigious power numbers in a prospect, and the sheer ability to hit a baseball entirely out of a minor league stadium, are enough to get those who follow baseball to expect greatness. That is definitely the case with the Texas Rangers prospect Joey Gallo.

Gallo showed flashes of that talent during his brief trial in the majors. In his first eleven games, Gallo took the American League by storm, producing a .300/.391/.625 batting line with four home runs. While his power was quite impressive, Gallo also struck out at a tremendous rate, striking out 16 times in his first 46 plate appearances.

More from MLB Prospects

• Is Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Ivan Melendez the next Pete Alonso?
• Los Angeles Dodgers prospect talk: Catching up with Hunter Feduccia
• MLBPA secures major victory for Minor League Baseball players
• Phillies: Breaking down the prospects fighting for an Opening Day spot
• What the XFL can learn from minor league baseball

Those strikeout tendencies caught up to Gallo during the rest of his major league tenure. Opposing pitchers adjusted against the Texas Rangers wunderkind, as Gallo struggled to a .149/.231/.298 batting line with only one home run over his next 14 games. In his 52 plate appearances, Gallo struck out an astonishing 27 times, as pitchers simply let him chase pitches out of the zone.

In AAA for the first time, Gallo’s struggles have continued. While he has made better contact, striking out only four times in his first 23 plate appearances, Gallo has posted a mediocre .150/.261/.400 batting line at Round Rock. There are certainly positives from his performance, as all three of Gallo’s hits have gone for extra bases, but those struggles to begin his time in the Pacific Coast League are worth noting.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Yet, of greater concern for Gallo’s major league prospects is his strikeout rate. During his minor league career, Gallo has struck out 482 times, a 33.6% strikeout rate. While Gallo can hit the ball quite an impressive distance if he makes contact, that is not exactly a given. In fact, Gallo’s tremendous strikeout potential could end up being the difference between his ability to become the major league player he was projected to be.

In Joey Gallo, it is believed that the Texas Rangers have their third baseman of the future. Adrian Beltre is not getting any younger, and the Rangers will need to find a long term replacement in the near future. Gallo, and his ability to hit home runs that leave people slack jawed in amazement, is supposed to be that player. However, his inability to make consistent contact could well mean that he does not reach his potential.

The Texas Rangers have a good deal of their future riding on Joey Gallo to be that cornerstone on offense. However, it is certainly worth questioning whether or not he will actually be the player that he was envisioned to be.

Next: Five Prospects that Could Make an Impact in the Second Half