Joey Gallo's hittin' 'em again

[Bob Of Burleson]

By Teddy Cahill / MLB.com

Joey Gallo hardly looked like a hitter who was in a skid at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on July 13. He broke a truck's windshield with a mammoth home run during batting practice and was named MVP after going deep in the game.

But Gallo, the Rangers' No. 2 prospect, had gone hitless in his last two games with Double-A Frisco before departing for Minneapolis and, when he returned, his slump deepened. In an eight-game stretch from July 9-20, he went 3-for-29 with no extra base hits and struck out 16 times.

Gallo, ranked No. 72 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list, has been a streaky hitter throughout his career and it was just a matter of time before he got back on track. It happened this week and his slump has quickly turned into a hot streak.

After homering Friday night, he has a six-game hitting streak and has homered in three straight games. His recent power surge has sent him back to the top of the Minor League leaderboard with 35 home runs this season, just ahead of Cubs' No. 2 prospect Kris Bryant and his 33 home runs.

Gallo will look to stay hot Saturday when Double-A Frisco hosts San Antonio. The game, which begins at 8:05 p.m. ET, can be seen on MiLB.TV.

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