Joey Gallo is probably the most exciting prospect the Texas Rangers have had since Jurickson Profar was the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. Even that might have been less just because power and home runs are sexy, and Gallo brings both of those in spades.
Gallo is unsurprisingly making noise in some batting practice sessions that are currently underway in Arlington before the team heads off to Arizona for spring training. This after he made headlines at the MLB all-star weekend when he shattered the windshield of a pickup truck that had to have been more than 500 feet from home plate at Minneapolis' Target Field in batting practice for the MLB Futures Game, which he also homered in.
But it's imperative the Rangers take it slow with Gallo, something they didn't do with Profar.
The 21-year-old set High-A on fire last year and was named MVP of the Carolina League despite only playing half the season there before being promoted to Double-A Frisco. His average dropped nearly 100 points with the move to Frisco and his strikeouts nearly doubled. However, he hit 21 home runs in each league and actually had more RBIs in Frisco.
So he showed he can still mash, regardless of level, but the batting average and strikeout numbers suffered dramatically with the promotion.
So not only should Gallo not see Arlington in 2015, unless it's a cup of coffee in September, but he should start the year at Double-A and stay there until he can improve on the plate discipline and hitting for average. In other words, take it really slow with the guy. There is a guy named Adrian Beltre who has third base pretty well locked down in Arlington. Gallo has a chance to be a transcendent player and you hate to see him ruined by a fast track.
