Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo doesn’t hit for a good average and strikes out way too much, but he can absolutely crush the ball. Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Gallo’s 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Joey Gallo MLB Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- Most home runs of any batter: Gallo is +800
- AL MVP Award: Gallo is TBA
The 2019 season was not a very memorable for Gallo as he fractured his wrist in a late July game vs. Seattle that required surgery. He was mired in a 1-for-28 slump over his last seven games before the surgery. The 25-year-old outfielder also missed time in June with a strained oblique injury.
Injuries marred what was a breakout 2019 campaign for Gallo as he started to round into form as an all-around star, looking to shed the “one-dimensional” stigma slapped on sluggers prone to strikeouts. Gallo has played 416 games so far in his major league career. He has 281 hits in those games. Out of those 281 hits, 105 of them are singles and 110 of them are homers.
“I always thought a home run was more important than a single,” he said. “It’s much more important. In terms of the old mindset, it was [batting] average. They didn’t view it the way they view it now. I always had power and I thought, ‘I’m just gonna use it every at-bat.’ I would be stupid not to.”
The team was hoping to activate Gallo for the final few weeks of the season but his hand remained sore and he was still having issues with his grip strength. Instead, the team transferred him to the 60-day injured list and Gallo never made it back. He finished the season with a slash line .253/.389/.598 with 22 homers, 49 RBI and four stolen bases in 70 games.
Last year, Gallo also hit the first sacrifice fly of his career. It came in his 1,337th plate appearance. He hit 96 homers in the major leagues before he hit a sacrifice fly. The previous record for most homers before hitting a sacrifice fly was 50 by Wily Mo Pena.
This offseason, he and the Rangers avoided arbitration by agreeing on a one-year, $4.4 million contract. Gallo made $605,500 last year. He also homered for the American League in its 4-3 win in the All-Star Game. It was Gallo’s first time as an All-Star. The outfielder has hit 103 homers with 221 RBIs in 363 games the past three seasons.
On May 8 last year in Pittsburgh in his 377th career game, Gallo became the fastest player in American League history to reach 100 career. Mark McGwire held the previous mark with 393 games. The fastest in MLB history is 325 by former Philadelphia Phillie Ryan Howard. Gallo is the only player in MLB to hit 20+ pre-All-Star break homers each year from 2017-19. His career 11.95 AB/HR ratio is third-best in MLB history (min. 1000 AB).
Also in 2019, Gallo led MLB in barrels per batted ball event (Brls/BBE%) among players with a minimum of 100 plate appearances. He was third in barrels per plate appearance (Brls/PA%) and hard-hit percentage and sixth in average exit velocity.
It is thought the team will move Gallo to right field if there is a 2020 season. Gallo didn’t play right field at all in 2019, with all 16 of his games at the position coming in 2018. However, Willie Calhoun is locked in in left field for next season and it appears the Rangers aren’t viewing Gallo as a long-term center fielder. Gallo had been hitting well in the Cactus League before MLB was shutdown.
