Yankees' Joey Gallo Homers For 2nd Straight Game, Increases Hitting Streak
After a tumultuous start to his tenure in pinstripes, Joey Gallo’s bat might finally be coming around for the Yankees.
Despite going 16 games without a home run to start the season, Gallo has homered in two straight contests to help the Yankees eclipse a five-game winning streak.
Following Friday’s game, Gallo was slashing just .122/.324/.122 and did not have a home run or RBI on the year. But since April 24, the outfielder has put together a four-game hitting streak, going 4-for-14 with two long balls and three RBIs across this span.
Gallo is a two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner. And although he is known for his power, high walk rate and high strikeout rate, his ice-cold start to the season does not reflect his career norms in terms of production (.814 OPS).
Gallo made the All-Star team in 2021, slugging 25 home runs with an .869 OPS for the Texas Rangers across 95 games a season ago. But after being traded to the Yankees ahead of the deadline, Gallo had a rough go of things in the Bronx, slashing a mere .160/.303/.404 with 88 strikeouts in 188 at-bats.
While Gallo’s struggles from the second half of last season have initially carried over in 2022, he could be on the verge of breaking out if he can rediscover his power swing in a hitter friendly ballpark. Gallo has hit 40 or more homers twice in his career and cracked 38 last year. His left-handed bat is an ideal fit with the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium, and if he can find his footing offensively, it would be a major boost to New York’s lineup.
So far, the 28-year-old has looked uncomfortable since joining the Yankees. But if he can parlay his hit streak into a hot stretch, it should help rejuvenate the slugger.
According to Baseball Savant, Gallo’s barrel rate (97th percentile), max exit velocity (95th percentile), hard hit percentage (80th percentile), expected slugging percentage (76th percentile) and walk percentage (73rd percentile) provide hope that he can escape this 76-game rut he has been in since becoming a Yankee. Even if his strikeout percentage, chase rate and whiff rate only slightly improve, Gallo has a chance to revert back to the 35-40 homer, high walk rate, .800-plus OPS player he was in Texas. The Yankees are hoping Gallo can recapture this version of himself this season.
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