{"id":5929,"date":"2012-02-08T12:16:27","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T18:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/?p=5929"},"modified":"2012-02-08T12:16:27","modified_gmt":"2012-02-08T18:16:27","slug":"2012-mlb-draft-preview-joey-gallo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/archives\/5929","title":{"rendered":"2012 MLB Draft Preview: Joey Gallo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Joey Gallo is a physically strong, 6-foot-5, 205-pound, CI\/RHP from Bishop Gorman HS (NV).\u00a0 One of the elite bats in the 2012 draft class, Gallo possesses power to all fields with exceptional pull-side power.\u00a0 However, it\u2019s not just the left-handed hitter\u2019s bat that intrigues scouts \u2013 Gallo also has potential on the mound.<\/p>\n

With a low-90s arm across the diamond, scouts will continue to debate whether Gallo is more projectable as a position player or pitcher.\u00a0 Given his 6-foot-5 frame, he has impressive athleticism and exhibits natural defensive actions at third base.\u00a0 However, he isn\u2019t an elite defender and will probably never grade higher than a 55 at the hot corner.<\/p>\n

Gallo\u2019s best tool is without a doubt his power, which has the potential to be a 65 or 70 by the time he arrives in the Major Leagues. Last season at Bishop Gorman, he batted .471 with 25 home runs and 76 RBI while posting a 24\/17 BB\/K rate.\u00a0 In 2010, Gallo swatted 15 bombs while posting a .474 batting average.<\/p>\n

His raw power was on full display this past summer at the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park where he belted a 442-foot home run \u2013 the 10th<\/sup> longest in the park\u2019s history.\u00a0 The only knock on Gallo\u2019s potential as a hitter is that, like most young power hitters, he has a tendency to drift and over-commit with his front side which causes his bat to drag.\u00a0 In turn, he struggles to hit quality offspeed pitches at times.\u00a0 But when he learns to adjust to such pitches, Gallo\u2019s hit tool has the potential to be about a 60.<\/p>\n

On the bump, Gallo\u2019s fastball has already been clocked at 94 mph, and his size suggests there could be more in the tank.\u00a0 While his arm works well, Gallo is a big, powerful kid, and his mechanics can get a bit inconsistent at times and therefore affect his command.\u00a0 As for offspeed, Gallo features an above average breaker and a change up that needs some development.<\/p>\n

Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 21 prep prospect, Gallo is in a precarious position headed into the 2011 season.\u00a0 He will be scrutinized until the draft as both a third baseman and pitcher, and disagreement about which position offers a higher ceiling could affect his stock.\u00a0 What could ultimately happen is something similar to when Kaleb Cowart was drafted 18th<\/sup> overall by the Angels in 2009 as a switch-hitting third baseman.\u00a0 If Gallo\u2019s bat never develops at the professional level, he still possesses a potential 60-70 arm that could be utilized on the mound.<\/p>\n

If Gallo isn\u2019t drafted favorably he will head to Louisiana State, which, in reality, might not be a terrible idea if his bat and\/or secondary offerings need further development.<\/p>\n

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Joey Gallo is a physically strong, 6-foot-5, 205-pound, CI\/RHP from Bishop Gorman HS (NV).\u00a0 One of the elite bats in the 2012 draft class, Gallo possesses power to all fields with exceptional pull-side power.\u00a0 However, it\u2019s not just the left-handed hitter\u2019s bat that intrigues scouts \u2013 Gallo also has potential on the mound. With a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2830,1300,8,6,16,9,13,10,775],"tags":[3145,2310,3143,3142,3144,1253],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5929"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5932,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929\/revisions\/5932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}