Rangers' Gallo to be promoted Tuesday

Rangers' fans probably weren't rooting for Adrian Beltre to land on the disabled list. He's a fan favorite, a four-time All-Star and has been in the top 15 of American League MVP voting each of the past five seasons.

But when Beltre hit the DL on Monday with a right thumb injury, the Lone Star State was likely eager for the other shoe to drop.

And now it has. On Monday, the Rangers announced they will purchase the contract of top prospect Joey Gallo from Double-A Frisco, bringing the prodigious slugger to the Majors for the first time.

In 34 games with the RoughRiders this year, Gallo hit .314 with nine homers and 31 RBIs.

A 21-year-old third baseman from Las Vegas, Gallo has 113 home runs in 330 career Minor League games. He won the Minor League home run crown with 40 homers in 2013, then finished second to childhood friend and Cubs prospect Kris Bryant with 42 homers in 2014.

The Rangers selected Gallo with the 39th pick in the 2012 Draft. The 6-foot-5 left-handed hitter displayed his scale-topping power immediately, crushing 18 homers in 43 games in the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2012.

He made his full-season debut in 2013 with Class A Hickory, where he hit 38 of his 40 home runs -- the other two came in the Arizona League during an injury rehab stint. He also struck out in 37 percent of his plate appearances with the Crawdads, leading to a .245 batting average.

Gallo jumped to Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach in 2014 and made adjustments to his mentality and stance, which helped cut his strikeout rate to 26 percent while still hitting 21 homers in 58 games. He earned a midseason promotion to Double-A Frisco, where his strikeout rate spiked back to 39.5 percent, although he still crushed 21 homers in his first 68 Texas League games.

The 21-year-old missed the start of the 2015 season with a heel injury before returning to the RoughRiders. As in 2014, Gallo opened this year with a dramatic cut in strikeout rate, punching out in still-high but improved 33.6 percent of plate appearances.

Gallo had been strictly a third baseman through the 2013 season and also played seven games at first base in 2014. This year, Frisco used him in left field six times in addition to regular third base duties.