Our series ranking the top 10 minor-league prospects for the Texas Rangers concludes with the system's top prospect.
Ranking: 1
Player: Joey Gallo
Position: 3B
Draft selection: 2012 first round (supplemental)
Team: Double-A Frisco
2014 season: Myrtle Beach: 58 G, .323/.463/.735, 21 HRs, 50 RBIs, 51 BBs, 64 Ks. Frisco: 68 G, .232/.334/.524, 21 HRs, 56 RBIs, 36 BBs, 115 Ks.
Positives: Power hitter
Negatives: Needs better control of the strike zone
When will he be here?: Like Jorge Alfaro, he’s a year away from the big leagues so his development this year will be critical. He has to work on fixing his swing to curtail the strikeouts. Of course, he’s a home run hitter so strikeouts will come, but scouts would like to see him hit for average a lot more. Power hitter has tremendous expectations.
What they're saying: “When you see him hit something, you won’t forget. You’ll tell your grandkids about when you saw him hit those home runs that everybody talks about.” -- Justin Mashore, Rangers' Triple-A hitting coach.
“While Gallo has incredible power, the rest of his game is more of a mystery. His home runs come with a lot of strikeouts, leading to concerns about his ability to hit for average. He has a long swing and there will always be some swing-and-miss in his game, though he has started drawing walks with much more frequency this season.” -- MLB.com.
The series:
