During his first stint with the major league club in 2015, Gallo showed his trademark power but his contact issues were badly exposed. He saw only 25 at-bats with Texas in 2016 despite a 25-homer season with Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers have a deep big-league lineup that may keep Gallo largely out of the picture again in 2017 barring an injury or two. Not all hope is lost by any means, as Gallo has been able to maintain a high walk rate which helps mitigate the swing and miss. With incredible raw power, Gallo easily boasts 30-homer potential if ever given a significant window to contribute. He's probably not worth a significant investment in most single-season drafts and auctions, but he has appeal as a reserve-round lotto ticket in mixed leagues.

Gallo got a taste of the big leagues in 2015 and fell flat on his face due to intense swing-and-miss issues. Like Javier Baez last season, Gallo was rushed so that he could fail. Players need to experience failure in order to change, and Gallo hit nine homers with a 1.061 OPS in 34 games at Double-A Frisco prior to his promotion, so he certainly wasn’t going to experience that failure against Texas League pitching. After posting a 46.3% strikeout rate with six homers in 36 games with the Rangers, he was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, where his contact issues persisted. He hit 14 homers, but also had a 39.5% strikeout rate in 53 games in the Pacific Coast League, so there is reason to be cautious heading into 2016. While Gallo legitimately has more raw power than any player in the American League, it is unclear what big league role he will play this season, or if he will ever make enough contact to maximize his power potential.

Of the 7.1 billion people walking this planet, Giancarlo Stanton may be the only one who can match Gallo’s raw power. He is the prototypical left-handed power bat. Gallo’s body mass is ideally proportional to his 6-foot-5 height, if the end goal is a person who destroys baseballs with ease. However, it was considered a long shot heading into 2014 that the 20-year-old third baseman (who might end up in right field) would ever get that power to fully show in games against more advanced pitching, as his hit tool was considered highly questionable. At High-A Myrtle Beach, he tabled those concerns, slashing .323/.463/.735 with 21 home runs and a completely acceptable 26.0% strikeout rate. Unfortunately after his promotion to Double-A Frisco, he fueled his doubters, hitting another 21 home runs, but mixing in a 39.5% strikeout rate and a .183 batting average against lefties. Gallo’s story has yet to be written. If he can once again make adjustments in the offseason, he could be terrorizing major league pitchers by late 2015.

Gallo's name was all over the prospect radar after his short-season debut in 2012, following his selection in the first round of the draft that June, but the shine has faded a bit after the 2013 campaign. Yes, the power is very much legit (40 homers), but there's considerable debate as to whether the approach at the plate (172 strikeouts against Low-A pitching) will work against advanced pitching. He could end up like Russell Branyan or Adam Dunn, and anywhere in between. Believed to be previously untouchable in trade talks, rumors persist that he's a player Texas is willing to dangle to acquire a known major league talent.

Gallo was a sandwich pick in the June draft, with scouts in agreement that he possessed the best raw power of any hitter in the draft class. Gallo assaulted rookie league pitching in his pro debut, swatting 18 homers and drawing 37 walks in 150 at-bats and resulting in a .293/.435/.733 slash that also included six steals in as many attempts. He struggled a bit in a brief appearance for Low-A Spokane, but he had one of the more promising debuts of the June draftees and should be all over the radar for those in keeper leagues.