Introducing Joey Gallo, Possible Centerpiece of Game-Changing Winter Trade

Rangers prospect Joey Gallo introduced himself to a national audience at this year’s All-Star Futures Game, as he put on an unbelievable power display during batting practice and followed it with a booming home run in the game.

The tape-measure blast—measured at 419 feet—led to the 21-year-old being named the game’s Most Valuable Player. And given the scarcity of power in baseball right now, it surely put Gallo atop many teams’ preferred trade lists.

At 6’5”, 205 pounds, Gallo is a physical specimen with enormous, 80-grade raw power. The combination of his quick wrists, explosive bat speed and lofty swing give him effortless in-game power to all fields, making it easy to envision him being a true 35-home run threat at the highest level.

“He’s got power. He’s got the ability to even mis-hit a ball and be able to hit the ball to both sides of the ballpark. He doesn’t have to be strictly a pull hitter to show power,” said Rangers’ short-season coach Rick Down, via Josh Norris of Baseball America.

“That gives him the luxury of being able to hit the ball where it’s pitched. He needs to play and just be able to trust what he’s got. He separates himself from the masses of the pack with his swing and his ability to hit the ball for distance and power.”

A quick perusal of Gallo’s video archive over at MiLB.com confirms this much, as it’s clip after clip of him hitting prodigious blasts to all fields.

Beyond the power, Gallo, a left-handed hitter, demonstrated better plate discipline and pitch recognition last season after adjusting his swing mechanics (subscription required), as he improved both his strikeout (33.3 percent) and walk (16.2 percent) rates and hit for a solid average (.271) without sacrificing any power (42 HR, .344 ISO).

Gallo spoke with Grantland’s Ben Lindbergh about his swing adjustments back in June.

"My swing last year was way longer, so I’d miss pitches that were thrown 88 miles an hour down the middle just because I had so much movement going on," Gallo noted. "Now, I really don’t miss too many of those pitches.

"[I’ve] definitely cut back on [the load] a lot. Just trying to keep things as simple as possible, really. Without a big load and without too much movement at all.”

Gallo likely will always be a streaky hitter and have a considerable amount of swing-and-miss to his game, but he’s also learning to work counts and take walks, therefore allowing him to see more hittable pitches.

“And it’s a little bit of knowing what a pitcher’s mentality is and how a team’s going to pitch to you," Gallo said to Lindbergh. “Now I kind of have a plan of what this guy’s best pitch is, what he’ll throw, and am a little smarter than last year. So that helps putting balls in play.”

So what does Gallo’s prodigious power say about his future?

The Miami Marlins made Giancarlo Stanton the richest player in sports’ history this offseason because he does one thing better than any other player in the game: hit home runs. And at 25, he projects to do it for a long time.

Stanton’s 154 homers over the last five seasons—the first five seasons of his career—ties him for third (with Albert Pujols) among all hitters during the time frame, as only Miguel Cabrera (187) and Jose Bautista (187) hit more, per FanGraphs.

Before that, though, Stanton was showcasing his obscene power in the minor leagues much like Gallo has over the last three years. Here’s a look at how the two sluggers’ respective minor league careers compare:

Year	Age	Level	PA	XBH%	HR	ISO	BB%	K%	OPS
2008	18	A	540	49.6	39	.318	10.7	28.3	.993
2009	19	A+	210	45.3	12	.283	13.3	21.4	.968
2009	19	AA	341	47.8	16	.224	9.1	29.0	.766
2010	20	AA	240	60.0	21	.417	18.3	22.1	1.171

Year	Age	Level	PA	XBH%	HR	ISO	BB%	K%	OPS
2012	18	Rk/SS	260	62.5	22	.388	18.5	30.0	1.072
2013	19	A	446	64.6	38	.365	10.8	37.0	.944
2014	20	A+	246	54.1	21	.413	20.7	26.0	1.199
2014	20	AA	291	53.4	21	.292	12.4	39.5	.858

Stanton began full-season ball at 18 while Gallo spent his age-18 campaign between the rookie and short-season levels, but other than that, there’s a clear overlap between both players’ respective offensive development.

A strong argument can be made that Gallo’s first three professional seasons have been better than Stanton’s, as he’s hit for more power (in terms of extra-base hit percentage, home runs and ISO) while walking at a higher clip—hence the higher OPS.

The only thing Stanton has on Gallo is fewer whiffs, and his tolerable strikeout rate likely played a part in Miami’s decision to promote him directly from Double-A to the major leagues in 2010 in his age-20 season. However, Stanton spent the second half of the previous year at Double-A, which lines up perfectly with Gallo’s 2014 campaign. That means if Gallo continues down Stanton’s path next year, then he’s likely to spend a good chunk of season with the Rangers.

Gallo has worked to become a quality defender at third base, but his present average range is likely to worsen as he ages due to his 6’5” frame. He still boasts the plus-plus arm strength that produced mid-90s fastballs in high school, though, which will always be a clean fit at the position.

But with Adrian Beltre and Prince Fielder blocking his path to the major leagues, it’s not surprising that the Rangers started giving Gallo reps at other positions this fall in instructional ball. Specifically, the Rangers had him working out at both corner outfield positions and even gave him some time at shortstop, per Jim Callis of MLB.com. However, he notes the time spent by Gallo at the latter position was intended to “enhance his first-step quickness.”

Stanton’s contract gives the Rangers every reason not to trade Gallo this offseason or anytime soon for that matter. So it wasn’t surprising when Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweeted back in late November that Gallo is believed to be untouchable in a trade.

With power coming at a premium these days and Gallo entering his first full season at the Double-A level, the organization would be crazy not to at least see what he can do in the coming years.

But if they were to make him available, it’s a safe bet that the Ranges, who mostly have been linked to young starting pitching this offseason, could land almost any arm(s) they desire.

Legitimate 80-grade power such as Gallo’s doesn’t grow on trees, and there are countless teams that would invest in his future given the opportunity.