A single, a double that almost left the park, a home-run to the second deck, four RBI, three runs scored and a walk. Joey Gallo’s MLB debut on Tuesday night was that good.
The power-hitting third baseman was called up by the Texas Rangers on Monday, skipping triple-A in order to help the Rangers fill the void with Adrian Beltre out at least two weeks with a sprained left thumb. It’s a tough blow for Beltre owners, as he was starting to heat up, but instead of calling up Rougned Odor and shifting Adam Rosales to third base, the Rangers decided to bring up Gallo, one of the most exciting prospects in baseball.
Power is Gallo’s game, as proven by the 51 home runs he’s smacked over 160 games during the last two seasons in the minors. But with the home runs come the strikeouts. Gallo’s strikeout rate with the double-A Frisco Roughriders sits at 33.6 percent this season and it was nearly 40 percent last year. He’s drawn many comparisons to Baltimore’s Chris Davis but if there’s one difference, Gallo at least has shown in the minors that he can take a walk — a help in OBP leagues, if you’re scooping him off the waiver wire.
What will be fascinating to watch is what the Rangers do if Gallo is hitting well when Beltre comes off the disabled list. Josh Hamilton, Leonys Martin, Shin-Soo Choo and Delino Deshields Jr. are already in the outfield conversation and Prince Fielder is your everyday designated hitter. I suppose Gallo could play first base but that would mean doing something with Mitch Moreland, who’s coming off a month of May in which he posted a .529 slugging percentage.
Gallo is getting at least a two-week look and with his power potential, he should be owned in all leagues. Here are five more players worth considering:
Chad Bettis, SP (9 percent owned)
Bettis had some chances to crack the Rockies’ rotation over the last few years and he didn’t do anything with his opportunities. This year, however, has been different. He’s 2-0 in four starts with a 2.96 ERA and nearly four times as many strikeouts as walks.
The 50 percent groundball rate is nice, especially if you’re going to start Bettis at Coors Field, but he still has work to do against right-handers, who hit him hard in the minors and who are batting .328 against him in his MLB career. Would I start Bettis tonight against the Dodgers? No. But I’d probably pick him up in a 14-team league as a fallback if I’ve just lost Stephen Strasburg or James Paxton.
Justin Bour, 1B (5 percent owned)
A former 25th round pick, Bour has shown consistent power throughout the minors and he’s been tremendous in replacing the injured Michael Morse at first base. Bour is coming off a month of May where he crushed five home runs and finished with a .992 OPS. He’s a big left-handed bat who can’t hit lefties – he’s had just five plate appearances against southpaws all season – but he’s worth plugging into your lineup against right-handers as long as he keeps swinging that hot bat. First base is deep but if Bour can keep his bat in the lineup, we could be looking at 15-20 home-runs.
Randal Grichuk, OF (3 percent owned)
Before the season, Grichuk said if he were to play regularly, he would be ‘overjoyed’ with a .270 average, 25 home runs and 85 RBI at season’s end. Manager Mike Matheny said ‘That’s not a reach, not at all.’
We’re only working with 186 plate appearances in his MLB career, but Grichuk has five home runs, including two this year, with 14 doubles to go along with a .463 slugging percentage. He’s notched seven doubles, two triples, a home run and a stolen base over his last 17 games, playing all three outfield positions and even hitting clean-up on two occasions.
Jon Jay, Jason Heyward and Matt Holliday make up the Cardinals’ outfield but Matheny has said he wants to find a way to keep Grichuk in the lineup which means he’s worth the gamble in deep formats.
Joe Panik, 2B (25 percent owned)
Back in March, Panik said his swing will eventually lead to more power. He’s made good on that promise so far.
After hitting just one round-tripper in 287 plate appearances last season, he’s already up to four this year in 215 plate appearances while maintaining his ability to make contact at the plate. His strikeout rate remains low and his walk rate remains above average, but the biggest difference this year comes from his batted ball profile. Panik has seen an 11 percent decrease in ground balls compared to last season and his fly ball rate has jumped a whopping 12 percent.
Only four second basemen hit more than 20 home runs last season and while I don’t think Panik will reach that, he could provide double-digit power with really good on-base skills. For somebody who wasn’t drafted in many fantasy leagues, Panik could become a top-10 second baseman if he keeps this up.
Carson Smith, RP (16 percent owned)
Should Lloyd McClendon make the move and remove Fernando Rodney from the closer’s role? Yes. Will he? I’m not sure about that. Still, I’d take the chance and add Smith to my roster thanks to 28 strikeouts in 23.1 innings and a 1.17 ERA. He’s next in line if Rodney is ever yanked, and that might be soon, after Rodney failed to protect a one-run lead in the ninth on Tuesday. He walked Chase Headley and gave up singles to Brian McCann and Stephen Drew and has now blown two of his last three save opportunities. His WHIP is now an atrocious 1.79.
McClendon said following the game that he’s ‘going to stay the course’ with Rodney but I don’t buy that for a second. Smith has been pitching well enough to at least earn a shot. Go get him if he’s still out there.