LA Angels #1 Prospect Jo Adell excites at Futures Game

Jo Adell isn’t just the best prospect in the LA Angels system, he’s the best prospect throughout the entire Cal League and one of the best in all of baseball. Since his appearance at the Futures Game, his stock has soared, exciting not just Angel fans, but MLB fans alike.

It’s been a week since Jo Adell returned from the Futures Game, an honor he received given his performance and talent progression over the course of the 2018 season. The Futures Game is an event taking place during the MLB All-Star break in which the cream of the prospect crop developing within various MLB organizations get together for an All-Star Game of their own. This is a showcase of the future superstars of tomorrow, and seeing the 19-year-old Jo Adell excel at the rate that took him to the Futures Game is beyond exciting.

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What led Jo Adell to taking part in this showcase of the future wasn’t just his .307/.368/.573 slash line on the season so far, but his temperament and dominating mentality that allows the quick development we’ve seen from Adell since coming into the Angels organization following his draft day in 2017.

The two teams competing against each other in the Futures Game, Team USA and Team World, were managed by Angels staple Torii Hunter (Team USA) and baseball legend David Ortiz (Team World), respectively. Being able to play under and learn from Torii Hunter was just one of the many maturating experiences offered to Adell in his Futures Game experience.

Class A Advanced Slash Line: .296/.351/.557

H.H: How did you enjoy playing under Angels fan-favorite Torii Hunter?

Adell: [laughs] Torii’s the best man! He kept it chill, kept it relaxed, it was a lot of fun. I met Torii at the start of the year in Spring Training and I played with his son a bunch. It was cool to kinda get a taste of home, in a way, since I’ve known him for a good bit. It was a lot of fun to have him and have him there with the boys really hyping things up.

H.H: What was it like playing alongside future MLB stars, some who you’ve played against with the 66ers?

Adell: It’s a pretty unbelievable experience, you got all the best players in the Minor Leagues all in one spot. A lot of the guys I knew from playing against, playing with, coming up through the system, the Under-Armor All American game. It’s really a cool experience to really get to soak it all in; 40,000 fans there, you don’t get that everyday in the Minor Leagues. It was an awesome experience, a lot of energy.

H.H: Given the nature of the Futures Game, do you have your eye on joining Mike Trout with the Angels?

Adell: [laughs] That’s something that you think about when you’re 6 years old playing tee-ball. Now, coming up through the system and sticking with the process and doing what I need to do, it gets more and more real everyday. That’s something that would be a dream of mine, to go out there and play with the best player in baseball. Really soak it in and learn from him, learn his ways and how he goes about the game. So yeah, it would be pretty awesome to play side-by-side with him.

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Career Extra Base Hits (two seasons): 71 XBH’s [36 2B, 12 3B, 23 HR’s]

Jo Adell is currently batting .305/.365/.572 on the 2018 season with 18 HR’s and 70 RBI’s. His OPS sits at a fantastic .937 on the season with 13 stolen bases (3 caught stealing) to boot. It isn’t difficult to imagine Adell playing side by side with Trout in the near future. Given Adells development pace, he looks to tackle both Double A and Triple A next season, in 2019. With the way Adell adjusts and develops it isn’t far-fetched at all to believe he will be ready to see MLB time as a roster expansion call-up in September of 2019.

In fact, it’s more far-fetched to believe he won’t be seeing MLB time to finish off the 2019 season and gain the experience necessary to prepare himself for a full run as a 2020 starter.

Mike Trout and Jo Adell in the same outfield. It’s a dream come true, not just for Angel fans and executives alike; but for the talented, mature-beyond-his-years athlete that is the nineteen year old Jo Adell.

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