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Texas Rangers: Take a moment to appreciate Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara

By Travis Koch |
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 2: Joey Gallo #13 celebrates with Nomar Mazara #30 of the Texas Rangers after Mazara hit a solo home run during the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on May 2, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 2: Joey Gallo #13 celebrates with Nomar Mazara #30 of the Texas Rangers after Mazara hit a solo home run during the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on May 2, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 01: Nomar Mazara #30 of the Texas Rangers celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two run home run off Jeff Beliveau #38 of the Cleveland Indians during the seventh inning at Progressive Field on May 1, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 01: Nomar Mazara #30 of the Texas Rangers celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two run home run off Jeff Beliveau #38 of the Cleveland Indians during the seventh inning at Progressive Field on May 1, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

The Texas Rangers aren’t making too many headlines, at least not in a positive light. However, they do have two headline acts. Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara are quietly and quickly growing into their worldly potential.

The season is not going to plan for the Texas Rangers. Their 12-20 illustrates such. However, a bad start does not mean everyone on the team is playing bad. In fact, two Rangers are off to very impressive starts. Let’s take a moment to appreciate the early works of Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara.

In a lineup that is without its two faces of the franchise, the future faces of the franchise have emerged. Gallo and Mazara have stepped up in the absence of Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre.

Gallo crushed his 10th home run of the season yesterday afternoon in Cleveland. He is now tied for 2nd in MLB in homers. Prior to Gallo’s long ball, Nomar Mazara hit one of his own. Yesterday’s home run was Mazara’s 4th of the year. Most notably, each home run was hit off two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.

The list goes on and on about what makes Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo so special. I mean, where do we even begin? Each has a…

ARLINGTON, TX – APRIL 09: Joey Gallo
ARLINGTON, TX – APRIL 09: Joey Gallo /

The lasting quality

The maturity and makeup of these two young studs is sensational. Nomar Mazara isn’t known as “The Big Chill” just because the nickname sounds cool. Rather, he owns that nickname because he remains calm at all times, at least from an outsider’s perspective.

Need I remind everyone he’s only 23 years old? Mazara’s calmness certainly filters throughout the clubhouse, especially with the number of rookies that are currently on the roster. His calm confidence is an invaluable quality and it leads you to believe he’ll be showing off that quality in the big leagues for many years to come.

Joey Gallo could probably be nicknamed “Big Chill #2”. The 24-year-old also expresses a calm confidence. Gallo’s calm confidence may be even more impressive given the fact that he strikes out substantially more than Mazara. Those of us who have played baseball can surely appreciate a player that doesn’t get visually upset after coming up whiffing.

Remarkably, “Big Chill” and “Big Chill #2” are taking the field everyday as if they’ve already been in the major leagues for 10 years.

ARLINGTON, TX – APRIL 21: Nomar Mazara #30 of the Texas Rangers hits double RBI in the first inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 21, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – APRIL 21: Nomar Mazara #30 of the Texas Rangers hits double RBI in the first inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 21, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images) /

Willing and able to adjust

Baseball is the ultimate game of adjustments. Instant success happens all the time in MLB, yet, continued success is a whole other feat. It’s the players that are able to frequently adjust that are able to sustain big league success.

At young ages and already fully exposed, Mazara and Gallo have shown the ability to make adjustments. Mazara’s most notable adjustment is his approach against left-handed pitchers.

Last season, he slashed .228/.286/.317 against southpaws. In addition, he hit only one home run in 123 at-bats against lefties. Fast forward to May 3rd, 2018 and Mazara is slashing .314/.351/.543 against left-handers. He has already doubled his home run total against lefties from last season, in only 35 at-bats.

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Joey Gallo is still doing his thing: hitting a bunch of home runs and recording a bunch of strikeouts. That’s unlikely to change. Simply put, Gallo’s upper-cut swing path is naturally going to result in a lot of strikeouts. However, it’s the little adjustments Gallo is making that standout.

He’s laying off pitcher’s pitches, working himself into favorable counts and looking for a pitch that he knows he can drive. Gallo also deserves some credit for his efforts to counteract the shift. He has shown bunt on multiple occasions this season, one of which did result in a single.

Surely Jeff Banister would prefer his top power hitter to swing for the fences; though, Gallo’s bunting efforts at the very least prove his awareness and selflessness at the plate.

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 27: Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with Nomar Mazara #30 after both runners scored on a two-run single by Ronald Guzman #67 in the sixth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 27, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 27: Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with Nomar Mazara #30 after both runners scored on a two-run single by Ronald Guzman #67 in the sixth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 27, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Oh, and they’re both super talented

Talent triumphs all else with Mazara and Gallo. There’s a reason each  was raved about long before reaching the majors. Obviously, Gallo has the capability to hit 40+ home runs a year if he’s healthy. His power is matched by maybe two or three players in all of baseball. Barring injury or any unforeseen setbacks, Joey Gallo has the potential to be a historical power hitter. That’s special.

Nomar Mazara is a pure hitter. He has a sweet swing from the left side that almost anyone would envy. He has plate discipline, he hits for good contact, and he has the ability to drive the ball gap-to-gap, while also being able to hit a ball 430 feet. Nomar Mazara looks every bit like a soon-to-be perennial all-star.

There is no ceiling for Joey Gallo or Nomar Mazara. They will be headliners in the MLB for who knows how long. And the best part is…they’ll be making headlines while wearing Texas Rangers uniforms.

Next: 3 Takeaways from Series in Cleveland

So, take a moment to appreciate what we’re already witnessing. Look beyond the haze of the rough start to the Texas Rangers season and get excited about what is to come.

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