Off to a hot start with big slugging numbers early in the season, Joey Gallo looks to have finally unlocked his power at the plate again. At least, that’s what the numbers say.
After years of struggling to beat the shift and shedding the stigma of a three-true-outcome hitter, Joey Gallo is having a renaissance with the Minnesota Twins. With a .304 average, 1.230 OPS and four home runs through 25 plate appearances, his power numbers are surging, and the underlying stats back up his re-breakout.
In his return on Wednesday night from a stint on the IL, Gallo picked up right where he left off, launching a 417-foot home run off of Corey Kluber. With an exit velocity of 109.4 mph and a 29-degree launch angle, the blast into the right field bleachers at Fenway Park is a perfect example of Gallo’s success at the plate this season.
Coming into the year, experts figured Gallo to be a prime beneficiary of the new rules limiting defensive shifting, with his penchant for pulling the ball. With how Gallo is approaching his at-bats, teams could line up all seven fielders on the right side, and they still wouldn’t be able to stop him and his new approach.
Joey Gallo has unlocked his power with high-quality contact
Not only is he leaning into his pull power, but he’s elevating the ball. His career pull rate is 49.4 percent, and his career flyball rate is 51. percent. This season, both marks currently sit at 73.3 percent. While it’s still early and the sample size is small, Statcast shows a 30.2-degree launch angle, the highest of his career outside his brief time with the Rangers in 2016.
Combine the flyballs with the quality of contact he’s making, and it’s a recipe for slugging success. In 15 batted ball events, his hard hit rate is 80 percent (his career mark is 49.4 percent), and his average exit velocity is an incredible 99 mph.
Improved plate discipline is a key to Joey Gallo’s success
After three straight seasons with a sub-.200 batting average, the 29-year-old has seemingly changed his approach at the plate, bringing better discipline to his at-bats.
He’s chasing only 22.2 percent of pitches out of the zone, way down from the 31.5 percent from last season. This has helped him bring his strikeout rate down to 32 percent, which, while still high, is an improvement on his outrageous 39.8 percent rate from last year and his career rate of 37.2 percent.
His walk rate is also down to 8 percent, but that’s only because he’s taking a more aggressive approach, attacking 86.3 percent of balls in the zone. For context, the league average usually sits around 65 percent.
Can Gallo keep up the improved contact quality and impressive plate discipline for an entire season? Only time will tell, but 2023 is looking good so far for the former 40-homer slugger.