Hey guys, I've been working a while on some write-ups on some of my personal favorite Texas Ranger Prospects. We've all read quite a bit on some of them, but I've had the opportunity for the last two years to see these five in-person quite a bit and they are special ballplayers. I think it is even possible that some of us have underrated how good the farm is.



My goal is to show you some interesting stats, mechanics, and comparisons to try and get the best possible prediction of these players in the future. To start us off, the most exciting prospect to come through the system in a long time, Joey Gallo.



Joey Gallo



Joey Gallo is a 22 year old 6'5, 230 pound behemoth that can throw the ball 94 MPH off the mound. His stuff was good enough to be projected as a top 10 overall pick out of high-school as one of the top HS pitchers in the draft. He had 2 plus offerings in some of his early scouting reports that also stated he might have one of the highest ceilings as a starter in his class. As we know though, Joey Gallo loves hitting dingers. He loves hitting dingers so much that he told teams he did not want a $3,000,000 signing bonus to pitch.

Thus, the Rangers got a top of the line athlete with the 39th overall pick in the 2012 draft. Since then he more or less did exactly what the Rangers expected him to do, Gallo hit a lot of home runs, had quality plate appearances and a patient approach, and improved year to year significantly. His play at third base has seen criticism, but his arm and wing span makes up for his slight lack of range.



Scouting Report

Hit: 35/50, Raw Power: 75/80, Arm: 70/70, Field: 40/50, Run: 45/45



Joey Gallo has an interesting swing that does a few things really well and a few things that could explain some of his high K numbers. The video of Gallo's home run off of Phil Hughes is a good representation oh how his swing can go right, while showing the parts that cause some weaknesses.



Your browser does not support iframes.



The first thing to notice is the massive amount of torque he generates with his hip motion and slight back bend giving his swing a rather exaggerated upwards motion through the zone. His power is easy and generated through the hips and the ball comes off the bat hard. The upward motion through the swing gives the ball that extra loft, and we get the majestic home-runs like in the video. His swing is rather long which explains some of his swing and miss, there are a few other holes. One thing I've heard scouts mention before is that the exaggerated leg kick may be in addition to his long swing keeps him late on fastballs up and in. His future hit tool could be close to 50 and it will play up due to the power and his patient approach at the plate. I have seen Gallo lay off some tough off-speed pitches and swing at some pretty terrible junk as well. As he ages and gets more experience in the majors, I expect quick improvement. As his power and plate approach develop we could definitely see some 100 BB years, which should make up a bit for the 200 strike out seasons that are also possible. Within three years I think we see something like this line; 45 HR, 90 BB, 195 K, and a .240/.340/.600 slash. As close as I can estimate with Fangraphs data, that would be good for a 145 wRC+. As a side note, Gallo gets a bit of praise for his base running ability and he was actually good for 1.9 base runs in 2015 according to Fangraphs.

His field/arm/speed tools equal out to being a completely average fielder at third right now, with maybe a possibility at being slightly above average in right or left field. His range at third is rather limited, but his arm more than makes up for it. He's got a good glove and snags a lot of line shots and ropes due to his lengthy reach and good coordination. The arm is where the money is at with Gallo, with his arm close plays won't be close at all and if he ends up in the outfield we will stop missing Leonys Martin's arm so much. If he does transition to the outfield, he's obviously limited to the corners due to his speed tool being slightly below average. He does generally make good reads in practice and in the few games I have watched in person so I do have some hope for him there. It's very possible that Gallo ends up being a very slight+ defensively at one or two positions.



Lastly, I'll put in that I have talked to Gallo and his coaches before, and he is a good guy. He works hard, cares about winning and having fun in the clubhouse, and is generally a good teammate. Whenever I ask who the best teammates are, I hear Gallo, Alfaro, and Trevino. I like having people like that playing for the Rangers.



Final Thoughts

Gallo is a rare breed, a hitter with power we don't get to see often anymore. People struggle on finding a minor league comp that is similar, and there just aren't many. One of the more interesting comparisons is Adam Dunn, as Gallo's lines from season to season end up looking a lot line Adam Dunn's career lines. Adam Dunn's career slash was .237/.364/.490 which is easily foreseeable as a future Joey Gallo line. Dunn ended up with a career 123 wRC+, but that includes 4 terrible years which he showed up way overweight and out of shape. Without those he averaged a 131 wRC+ and around 25 WAR over the course of 10 seasons. If you only make him a slight liability in the field in this time instead of one of the worst fielders ever, he would have been a 50 WAR player over the course of his career. Adam Dunn with average fielding would be amazing to see play for the Rangers and Gallo has the potential to be even better than that. If he can cut down on the strikeouts, we could see MVP, 60 home run seasons from Gallo. Gallo is someone we will all enjoy seeing in a Ranger's uniform the next 5-20 years.



PS: Let us not forget that he gave us one of the best parts of 2015.