ARLINGTON, Texas-Joey Gallo used to hear the reports. As a prospect, before and even after the Texas Rangers drafted him in the first round with the No. 39 pick in 2012, he was rated highly in every regard, especially power, as you'd expect, but below average in foot speed.
For the athletically gifted Gallo, the base running slight always seemed to follow his massive 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame around. As if it one had to include the other.
"I didn't like that people assumed I couldn't run. ... I was like, OK ...," he said, trailing off just before going into a "I'll show you how slow I am" screed.
"But I knew as soon as I was playing on TV every day and people actually got to see me play, they'd notice that I wasn't just a big donkey out there, I could actually run around a little bit," said Gallo, who has three stolen bases in three tries, his most since 2014.
His fielding and strong arm at third base have also been impressive revelations during the first month of the season. With veteran Adrian Beltre out with a calf injury (and not returning anytime soon), Gallo has been given the chance to get comfortable in the lineup. He's started the first 22 games and is likely due for a day off soon.
Gallo, however, looks as if he's going to be a Rangers' lineup mainstay even when Beltre returns.
He leads the club with seven homers, including the longest of the season so far-462 feet, of which he's tied with teammate Carlos Gomez and the Dodgers' Corey Seager, according to Statcast. His average exit velocity is second in the majors at 97.2 mph. The Twins' Miguel Sano is the only player hitting the ball harder on a regular basis.
Gallo showed flashes of his power during previous stints in Arlington, first for 36 games in 2015 and 17 in 2016. Both times, however, he returned to the minors when the strikeouts piled up and it was clear he wasn't ready for major league pitching.
At 23, he has shown far more patience this season with a willingness to lay off a pitch, even if it's on the edge. The new approach at the plate that he cultivated during the off-season and honed during spring training is staying with him and he's staying with it.
"I feel different. I think I'm a little more confident, I'm starting to believe in my stuff now," said Gallo, who has 16 RBIs, one behind Nomar Mazara for the team lead. "I'm starting to believe I can hit up here and play up here. It's the same game, just a different level I guess you could say. That's kind of my approach right now towards it."
He's peppering his tape measure homers, which are coming at an average of every 9.9 at-bats (just a tick behind American League leader Aaron Judge's 9.1), with 12 walks. Although his batting average is .232 (not bad for this offense at the moment), his .623 slugging percentage is tied for third in the league and his overall wins above replacement score of 1.44 is fourth among position players.
"I think the years before prepared for me, some failures. I've learned a lot. If I have a bad day I don't let it get to me anymore like I used to so that definitely helps," said Gallo, who was floundering with Triple-A Round Rock a year ago, dealing with a foot injury and desperately trying to find the appropriate approach at the plate.
"It's fun being up here and having some success and winning," he said, before reflecting on the past year. "Compared to last year and the year before that, yeah, it's pretty fun."
He has more than held his own at third base. He's made the routine plays, the not-so-routine plays and even a few highlight reel plays, including a double play he started on a hot line drive to his right that ended the top of the fifth Wednesday night. His .983 fielding percentage is tops among AL third basemen and third-best in the majors. He's only made one error in 58 total chances.
"I've always been very athletic for my size," he said. "I took pride in that and I never wanted to be just a one-sided player. I think the game is changing, so no matter who you are, you need to be able to play defense and run the bases and hit. I tried to stay ahead of the curve and make sure I can do everything."
Gallo always believed in his talent, even during his struggles in '16, when he struck out 152 times in 105 games. He was challenged, manager Jeff Banister said, but never lacked belief in himself. It was and remains important, however, that Gallo has found success and been able to build up his confidence that he was on the right track.
"If you can stack them on top of each other it really bolsters the confidence level for these guys, especially a guy like Joe," Banister said. "The more positive days they can stack on top of each other allows them to move past the challenging ones."
Banister thinks Gallo's batting average will climb in time, but "he's a home run hitter. He hits balls out of the ballpark. That's what he is," he said.
Gallo knows that, too. His deeper understanding of his strengths and weaknesses at the plate have been integral to his improvement.
And providing more than adequate defensive prowess has made Beltre's absence less noticeable.
"If you're not having a good day at the plate then I'm screwed if that's the player I am. As the player I am right now I can make some plays on defense to help the team win," he said. "I can draw a walk and steal a base and score a run that way to help the team win."