DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - It's official. Joey Gallo will hit in the top third of the Rangers lineup this season, manager Chris Woodward confirmed Wednesday on the K&C Masterpiece.
"I definitely want him in the top-3. It could be fourth," Woodward said. "Right now, I'd say he'd probably be hitting third most of the time based on the lineup."
Woodward went on to explain that he could envision moving Gallo back to the cleanup spot in the lineup if there are three guys getting on-base at a high rate he can slot in front of the slugger, or if the bottom of the lineup is struggling to get going.
The Rangers lineup from top to bottom is still relatively unknown at this point. 105.3 The Fan's Jared Sandler speculated Wednesday morning that Choo would be the club's leadoff hitter and Elvis Andrus would be in the two-hole. If that comes to fruition, we now can picture what the lineup could look like with Gallo batting third.
Under this scenario, Todd Frazier would likely be the club's fourth hitter to break up the righty-lefty matchups. Danny Santana, a switch hitter, and Willie Calhoun, a lefty, would likely slot in at the fifth and sixth spots in the order. Those six would be followed by some combination of Rougned Odor, Greg Bird/Ronald Guzman, and Robinson Chirinos, with Nick Solak sprinkling in the lineup several times a week.
Woody also talked about several other things. Check out the interview below:
