Rangers notes: Joey Gallo wasted no time preparing for 2016

Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo got a taste of the big leagues in 2015. He quickly showed off his impressive power when he filled in for the injured Adrian Beltre in June but was sent down to Triple A Round Rock when Beltre returned.

The move to Triple A, which was Gallo’s first experience at that level, did not go well for a variety of reasons. In short, Gallo said, he tried being a different kind of hitter.

“I think I just tried to make too many adjustments at one time. I tried to be a different player and I started to get all messed up and that’s my own fault,” Gallo said after the Rangers’ winter camp workout Wednesday morning. “I don’t blame anybody for that. That was just me trying to do too much.”

His experience in 2015, which included a left ankle injury at the end of spring training, should serve him well going forward, he said. He took just a week off before starting his off-season workouts. He feels the difference already, especially in his legs. He hopes to keep his emotions on an even keel in 2016.

Gallo joked that his big league debut on June 2, when he went 3 for 4 with a double, homer and four RBIs, was his downfall. Expectations went through the roof. It didn’t serve him well the rest of the season.

“When you first get called up you’re tense and you want to impress everybody and you want to be a superstar,” he said. “It’s tough to play like that so I just want to play and let the results happen.”

Profar feeling fine

Jurickson Profar is throwing from 135 feet, well past the 105-foot mark that caused pain in 2014 and eventually forced him to have surgery on his right shoulder.

He expects to be 100 percent for spring training. He worked out with 10 position players, including Shin-Soo Choo, Elvis Andrus and Delino DeShields, at Southlake Carroll Senior High School’s indoor practice facility Wednesday morning. Profar, who turns 23 next month, has worked some at fielding from shortstop and expects to throw to bases by next week.

“I know I can [still] play baseball,” said Profar, who has missed the past two seasons with shoulder issues. “So now that I’m healthy, everything is good, and now everybody’s going to see it was me. I’m here now, I’m healthy now, I’m ready to go.”

Rua’s decision

Ryan Rua’s decision not to play in the Arizona Fall League in October disappointed the club but Rua saw it as a way to close a “whirlwind” rookie year.

He was the Opening Day starter in left field, but then got hurt the first week of the season and finished the year struggling at Round Rock. In the off-season, Rua got married and bought a house.

“The way things went I knew it would benefit me to play but on the other hand I thought it would benefit me just to clear my head and kind of let that season go from an individual standpoint,” he said.

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Rangers notes: Joey Gallo wasted no time preparing for 2016."