Chaos reigns as the Rangers travel to face the Asterisks in H-Town: 7/23-25

[True Rangers Fan]

So none of those hard hit balls that team are getting to with the shift would find the gap and turn into doubles?

It's possible, sure. A few over the course of a season. But they'd have to be smoked to get past everyone on the ground. Obviously he's capable of that, but adding 6 or so doubles to his stat line wouldn't elevate his stature as a hitter, in my opinion. Joey should be able to put up 25+ doubles on his own with no assistance from a shift ban, and honestly it's kind of weird that he doesn't. In fact, he only has 74 doubles in his career.

 

[saddles]

Unless it adds 5 to 7 a week it still would be worth the 30-35M AAV it would cost to sign him. If we had better hitters around him

Lol, are you kidding. 4 more per week would put him at the top in slugging percentage.

 

[saddles]

It's possible, sure. A few over the course of a season. But they'd have to be smoked to get past everyone on the ground. Obviously he's capable of that, but adding 6 or so doubles to his stat line wouldn't elevate his stature as a hitter, in my opinion. Joey should be able to put up 25+ doubles on his own with no assistance from a shift ban, and honestly it's kind of weird that he doesn't. In fact, he only has 74 doubles in his career.

6 more doubles and 15 more singles would put his slugging at .572. Ten years ago, before the shift became a thing, that would have been good for third in the league. He would have finished just ahead of a guy named Beltre. If it was 3 more doubles and 18 more singles he would still be third in the league in 2011.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

6 more doubles and 15 more singles would put his slugging at .572. Ten years ago, before the shift became a thing, that would have been good for third in the league. He would have finished just ahead of a guy named Beltre. If it was 3 more doubles and 18 more singles he would still be third in the league in 2011.

Banning the shift definitely improves the Joey statline. But I'm not convinced he gains any doubles from that, and it doesn't affect his strikeout total at all. Those dozen guys I mentioned earlier in the top 25 of OPS/OBP/SLG? There's 1 in the top 25 of K's, Tatis Jr at 24. 7 of them are in the top 25 of XBH. Joey is tied for 75th in XBH.

My point is basically that Gallo isn't an elite hitter at the moment, compared to the other players in the league. Even giving him the gift of banning the shift won't change that, because the things keeping him from being an elite hitter now aren't affected by the shift to begin with. So for me, as a fan, I cap what I think the Rangers should pay and I don't expect much back for him in return. And I definitely don't want the Rangers taking an "offseason or next year's deadline approach," because I don't think he gains any more value than he has right now.

 

[saddles]

From Scott Lucas:

Baseball America's midseason top-100 prospect list includes the unsigned Jack Leiter at #37, Josh Jung 43rd and Cole Winn 89th.

 

[saddles]

Banning the shift definitely improves the Joey statline. But I'm not convinced he gains any doubles from that, and it doesn't affect his strikeout total at all. Those dozen guys I mentioned earlier in the top 25 of OPS/OBP/SLG? There's 1 in the top 25 of K's, Tatis Jr at 24. 7 of them are in the top 25 of XBH. Joey is tied for 75th in XBH.

My point is basically that Gallo isn't an elite hitter at the moment, compared to the other players in the league. Even giving him the gift of banning the shift won't change that, because the things keeping him from being an elite hitter now aren't affected by the shift to begin with. So for me, as a fan, I cap what I think the Rangers should pay and I don't expect much back for him in return. And I definitely don't want the Rangers taking an "offseason or next year's deadline approach," because I don't think he gains any more value than he has right now.

To me those numbers plus his defense makes him a great player. Being top 5 in slugging and a gold glover in the field puts him in a rare category even if one decides to not call that category "elite." Probably closer to an elite player than an elite hitter.

What he deserves as a salary is a separate discussion to me, but his ability as a hitter definitely has to be determined first.

It is just something to consider. Who knows what exactly they will do with the shift anyway

 

[scotsman1948]

Lol, are you kidding. 4 more per week would put him at the top in slugging percentage.

figuring 7 games a week Gallo is averaging 5 hits a week (66 hits in 96 games), if they did away with shift right now it still wouldn't be worth 30-35M a year

 

[Senator_fan]

Doubles are a weak part of Gallo’s game admittedly but he also doesn’t face guys like Sborz and all the other Ranger relievers that have been on the roster with + 5,6 and 7 ERA’s.

Also the supply of available guys like Gallo is finite. Ohtani is not available and probably never will be because he picked the Angels and will resign in 2 years or less.

The limited supply/availability is why Gallo is in such high demand. Sandwich him between Judge and Stanton and you’ve got a pitcher’s nightmare.

If George Steinbrenner was still around, Gallo would already be in a Yankee uniform.

 

[scotsman1948]

To me those numbers plus his defense makes him a great player. Being top 5 in slugging and a gold glover in the field puts him in a rare category even if one decides to not call that category "elite." Probably closer to an elite player than an elite hitter.

What he deserves as a salary is a separate discussion to me, but his ability as a hitter definitely has to be determined first.

It is just something to consider. Who knows what exactly they will do with the shift anyway

Gallo is an elite defensive player but until he shows something offensively his defense isn't enough to offer him an elite contract

 

[True Rangers Fan]

To me those numbers plus his defense makes him a great player. Being top 5 in slugging and a gold glover in the field puts him in a rare category even if one decides to not call that category "elite." Probably closer to an elite player than an elite hitter.

What he deserves as a salary is a separate discussion to me, but his ability as a hitter definitely has to be determined first.

It is just something to consider. Who knows what exactly they will do with the shift anyway

Factor in his defense and yes he's a valuable player. But keep in mind, we're having to factor in his defense and a hypothetical ban of the shift to get him closer to being considered an elite player. He wouldn't be in the top 5 of SLG right now even with the extra hits we're giving him under the scenario there was no shift, but yes he is a bona fide Gold Glover. Given the talent currently in the league, I would not call him elite though, even with the bumped up stats. That's just me though.

It should also be considered that Gallo is a big dude and probably shouldn't be counted on for Gold Glove level defense for the length of the 5 year extension I'm willing to give him. Which is a part of what I meant about his value being at its highest right now.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Do the Rangers have any relievers available? None are coming to mind at the moment.

 

[saddles]

Factor in his defense and yes he's a valuable player. But keep in mind, we're having to factor in his defense and a hypothetical ban of the shift to get him closer to being considered an elite player. He wouldn't be in the top 5 of SLG right now even with the extra hits we're giving him under the scenario there was no shift, but yes he is a bona fide Gold Glover. Given the talent currently in the league, I would not call him elite though, even with the bumped up stats. That's just me though.

It should also be considered that Gallo is a big dude and probably shouldn't be counted on for Gold Glove level defense for the length of the 5 year extension I'm willing to give him. Which is a part of what I meant about his value being at its highest right now.

It would be really hard to say where he would fit in this year without the shift because I have no idea who else is affected and by how much. That is why I picked 10 years ago to compare it to. Even if all his extra hits were singles he would fit in the top 5 in 2011. Now, maybe hitting itself is better now than in 2011 and that alone would keep him out of the top 5 currently.

Until he got hurt in 2019 he was on pace to finish 3rd that year. In 2017 and 2018 he finished 8th and 14th.

He is definitely not worth an MVP mention for this year, but he isn't trash the way some have portrayed him to be. He definitely has a place on a team hoping to win a WS if you don't have to pay him $30 million per year.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

It would be really hard to say where he would fit in this year without the shift because I have no idea who else is affected and by how much. That is why I picked 10 years ago to compare it to. Even if all his extra hits were singles he would fit in the top 5 in 2011. Now, maybe hitting itself is better now than in 2011 and that alone would keep him out of the top 5 currently.

It still kind of blows my mind how few doubles Joey hits.

 

[saddles]

It still kind of blows my mind how few doubles Joey hits.

A lot of his would be doubles must turn into HRs.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

A lot of his would be doubles must turn into HRs.

His launch angle is all or nothing

 

[scotsman1948]

His launch angle is all or nothing

could you imagine how many doubles he could have if he used the whole field?

 

[Duane1952]

not to mention the fact that JD isn't the GM.

So think the GM can make a move without JD approval. Because I don't.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

could you imagine how many doubles he could have if he used the whole field?

If he could hit to left field he would demolish Ted Williams' .406

 

[True Rangers Fan]

So think the GM can make a move without JD approval. Because I don't.

Then why have Chris Young around at all?

 

[saddles]

could you imagine how many doubles he could have if he used the whole field?

When he struggled so much earlier, one of the things he was trying to do was to reduce his launch angle. That really messed him up.