Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Praises Joey Gallo's Hard Work in LA
In recent years, President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, has been able to land some of the most prized players on the trade market at the trade deadlines. In 2016 it was Rich Hill and Josh Reddick, in 2017 it was Yu Darvish, in 2018 Manny Machado and Brian Dozier, and Max Scherzer and Trea Turner last year. So this year, when they acquired outfielder Joey Gallo from the Yankees, fans were left underwhelmed.
But only three weeks into Freidman's latest reclamation project and it appears to already be paying off. Since joining the Dodgers, Gallo is batting .267 with a 1.038 OPS. While his strikeout rate remains high, his walk rate is actually down a bit. Other notable changes are a drastic increase in hard-hit percentage and a sizable decrease in pull percentage.
According to J.P. Hoornstra, of the Orange County Register, Manager Dave Roberts has noticed.
“There’s continued growth and comfort in what he’s doing in the batter’s box. He and the hitting coaches have been relentless trying to do this in real time during the season, trying to tighten up the swing mechanics. He’s bought in. Every day it seems like he’s getting more and more consistent. He’s taking better at-bats. He’s taking better swings. I certainly believes it validates and gives him more confidence.”
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Roberts notes the hard work that Gallo has put in with the Dodgers’ team of hitting coaches is paying off in real-time. The results are speaking for themselves and if he continues on this track of progression, look for the 2-time All-Star to have a pretty big impact come October.
