Prospect Focus: Jo Adell
Jo Adell, one of the top prospects in the Angels’ organization, could provide much-needed depth for an injury-riddled Halos team. (via ESPN.com)
So, before you dive into this article, I feel an obligation to be as candid as possible: I am a lifelong Angels fan. I remember my elation when they won the 2002 World Series and the glory days that were the early 2000’s. But, none of that matters now -- I just wanted to get the fact that I may be a little extra opinionated about Jo Adell out of the way.
Okay, now that that’s settled, let’s get into the Prospect Report, shall we?
Adell has been on the Angels’ radar for a few years now, and in fact, has been on the radar of baseball fans around the world. However, despite his potential, we haven’t quite seen the breakout season from Adell that we may have expected. And in fact, we still haven’t seen an Adell sighting in 2021. Below, I’ll discuss the possible reasons for his absence on the major league roster, as well as how he’s performing for Triple-A Salt Lake this season.
Why is Adell not with the Major League Squad?
This is a completely fair question. After all, we have already seen him on the major league roster in 2020, and he has been hitting the cover off the ball in Triple-A in 2021. Furthermore, Adell could slot right into the outfield for the Halos, and with Dexter Fowler out for the remainder of the season and Mike Trout likely out until the All-Star break . . . what gives?
Well, I believe there are a few reasons for Adell’s absence. For starters, the Angels have stood quite firm on their belief that he needs more time in the minors before rejoining the major league squad. However, his hot start to the season in Triple-A Salt Lake has not gone unnoticed, most importantly by Angels’ manager Joe Maddon. Nonetheless, even with the Angels’ injury-riddled outfield, it looks like Adell will need to continue his success in Triple-A before he sees another stint with the big league squad.
As was mentioned above, Adell has already seen some time in the majors. So why is his return taking so long? Unfortunately, he didn’t quite look like the highly-touted prospect that fans were sold on in 2020.
His time with the Angels in 2020 was lackluster, to say the least. He appeared in 38 games, slashing just .161/.212/.266. To put that into perspective, the average 2020 slash line was .245/.322/.418. Adell failed to provide the Angels with any sort of production, be it in the form of displaying power or in the form of getting on base. To make matters worse, Adell struck out a whopping 55 times in just 132 plate appearances. Striking out more than 41% of the time is not a recipe for success in the majors, or at any other level of professional baseball for that matter.
Moreover, when looking at his advanced stats in 2020, Adell ranked in the bottom 20 percent in some important metrics. For example, Adell ranked in the bottom 20 percent in walk rate, WHIFF percentage, barrel percentage, and chase rate. In other words, Adell lacked plate discipline, struck out far too much, and had a hard time making solid contact with the ball.
To put it simply, the Angels have seen Adell at the major league level, and what they saw only reinforced their belief that Adell still needs to see some growth in the minors.
Well, How is Adell Performing in the Minors?
Jo Adell (26) continues to impress at the plate for the Angels’ Triple-A squad in 2021. (via Prospects Live)
This is where Angels fans and prospect heads can find excitement. So far in 2021, Adell has been quite impressive, especially with his display of power for the Triple-A squad. This season, Adell has hit 15 home runs and has driven in 29 RBIs in 26 games. His slash line is the highest it has been at the Triple-A level, slashing .276/.328/.733. This is an immense improvement, especially compared to his 2020 major league slash line. Adell is still struggling with plate discipline, striking out roughly 30% of the time. However, that’s a vast improvement from his 2020 season when he struck out 41% of the time.
Adell still needs improvement on the defensive side of the ball as well. So far in 2021, he has a .981 fielding percentage, which is two points below the major league average. However, so long as Adell can continue his hot hitting, a team that is in desperate need of offensive help (in this case, the Angels) would likely be willing to work with the young prospect on the defensive side of the ball in exchange for offensive output.
The Halos are waiting for Adell to show them that he’s truly made the transformation into the player that they’ve been waiting for before they call him up to the major league squad. However, based on his early success in 2021, it looks as though there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for Adell. Only time will tell.
