Long Beach State University Athletics
Gallo a Quality Reliever for Astros
6/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
Late-Blooming Gallo Developing into Quality Reliever ST. LOUIS -- Scouting experts will make plenty of mistakes Monday, the first day of baseball's amateur draft. They will pick some prospects too high, dropping up to $1 million on bad investments. And they will miss some potential major-leaguers entirely. Somewhere in that mix, they'll hit on a prospect such as Astros lefthander Mike Gallo, who should give every wannabe major-leaguer hope. Gallo is a perfect example of why Astros scouting director David Lakey's staff has kept the franchise competitive despite a middle-market budget. Few scouts noticed Gallo when he graduated from Millikan (Calif.) High in 1995. Pitching for a perennial power, he was the No. 5 starter. He was relegated to starts against Compton High, the league doormat. Gallo took his talents to Long Beach City College, where coach Casey Crook converted him into a full-time pitcher in 1996. After a season there, major-league scouts still didn't bite, so he transferred to Long Beach State. Gallo played three seasons with the Dirtbags, helping Long Beach State reach the 1998 College World Series as a junior. Gallo finally got some attention after earning Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year honors as a senior in 1999, prompting the Astros to draft him in the fifth round. "Gallo's the type of player that in our industry we consistently miss on," said John Stockstill, the Chicago Cubs' director of scouting. "The Astros have done a good job of figuring out what he can do. The Astros have one of the most underrated scouting staffs." It's easy to miss on guys like Gallo, who is listed generously in the Astros' media guide as 6 feet, 175 pounds. He's actually about 5-10, three inches taller than he was in high school. But nothing could measure Gallo's dedication. He listened to all the advice he could get in the Astros' farm system. He spent parts of three seasons at Class A Michigan before making essentially a lateral move to Class A Lexington in 2002. He made one appearance at Class AA Round Rock in 2002, giving up one run in 1 1/3 innings. Last year, he went from Round Rock to New Orleans and eventually the majors, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 32 games with the Astros. He arrived at spring training this year with the inside track for a bullpen spot, but he pitched poorly and was sent to New Orleans at the end of camp. Gallo was back in the majors by April 13. He is 0-0 with a 1.65 ERA, giving up only three runs in 16 1/3 innings over 19 games. Gallo's most impressive performance so far this season was Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs, when he took the mound with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth inning. He quashed the threat with a strikeout and double play. Gallo retired the Cubs in order in the fifth and showed he can get out righthanded hitters as well. He got righthanded pinch hitter David Kelton to pop up to the catcher, Todd Walker to ground to first and Michael Barrett on a popup to third. "That's really big for us and for him," Astros manager Jimy Williams said. "It helps him build on what he's already attained. ... He's got hitters out from both sides of the plate with his pitches." Gallo, 27, doesn't lack confidence, but the positive reinforcement helps. Lefthanders are hitting .212 (7-for-33) against him and righthanders .130 (3-for-23). "Of course, my strength is against lefthanders, but I used to be a starter," he said. "I used to get righties out all the time. OK, not all the time. But I want to make myself more valuable to the team." |
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