Washington Nationals slugger Joey Gallo has never been one to have a high batting average.
In fact, his career mark in the category is .194.
Usually, or at least earlier in his career, he used to make up for the lack of contact with power and the ability to get walks.
He posted consecutive 40-homer, .800+ OPS seasons in 2017 and 2018, and his OPS reached .986 in 2019.
But lately, playing Gallo has been counterproductive as his strikeout issues have gotten worse with age and time.
He is slowly becoming unplayable, as a noted analyst points out.
#Nationals Joey Gallo is batting .160/.287/.396 over his last 162 games. He has 227 strikeouts to just 70 hits in 516 plate appearances. That is a 44.0 strikeouts percentage. For reference: Josh Hader is the all-time leader in strikeout percentage… at 42.1 percent. Not sure you can keep giving him ABs at this point,” Ryan Spaeder tweeted.
#Nationals Joey Gallo is batting .160/.287/.396 over his last 162 games. He has 227 strikeouts to just 70 hits in 516 plate appearances. That is a 44.0 strikeouts percentage.
For reference: Josh Hader is the all-time leader in strikeout percentage… at 42.1 percent.
Not sure…
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) May 22, 2024
It’s hard to justify a .160 batting average and, especially, a sub-.300 OBP and a sub-.400 slugging percentage.
A player can have the most impressive raw power ever seen, but the ratios are everything in MLB.
Gallo does a lot of things well on a baseball field, but a 44-percent strikeout rate won’t cut it.
He is hitting a meager .126 for the year, and even though he has lost time with an injury, he could be out of a job soon if he doesn’t pick it up.
For reference, Gallo has 12 hits this season, in 29 games and 114 plate appearances.
Luis Arraez of the San Diego Padres has 12 hits in his last four games.
It might be unfair to compare Gallo to one of the contact kings in MLB, but it’s just for fans to get an idea of how hard hits are coming by for the slugger.
The situation is getting out of hand.
