2. Joey Gallo, third baseman, Texas Rangers
When it comes to Joey Gallo, there was a lot of worry about whether he would get playing time with Adrian Beltre taking over the third base position for the Texas Rangers.
That was until Beltre landed on the 10-day DL before the regular season had even started with a Grade 1 calf strain. Beltre should be ready to go by the end of May, but until then, we get to witness Gallo and his power.
The 23-year-old had a stellar outing in Triple-A last season, hitting 25 home runs in the Pacific Coast League. Gallo shows power no matter where he’s hitting. This time around, he’s showcasing that power in a big way, though there are some struggles with striking out.
Last season he left behind a 63.3-percent strikeout rate with just a .120 ISO, so he wasn’t able to display that power in those few major league games. This season, he has 10 home runs with a .202/.303/.548 slash line.
He worked on some confidence issues during the offseason which put less pressure on him. It has obviously paid off.