LA Angels Top 25 Prospects: #1 Jo Adell

The LA Angels drafted phenom prospect Jo Adell in the first round of the 2017 draft with the intention of stashing away a replacement for Mike Trout in the Angels future. Plans have seemed to change as Jo Adell has matured so much in one full season that a call up in time to play with Trout has become a real possibility.

Adell has shown so much in just one full MiLB season, and with his 2018 Futures Game selection there’s no doubt he can be the future for both the LA Angels and MLB.

The hardest thing to do as a Minor Leaguer, during the most difficult stretches of development, is making the constant adjustments that keep yourself on top of the game. This isn’t an issue that is strictly for Minor Leaguers either, it’s an even bigger issue in the MLB. It’s not even about thriving, if you want to survive the game of baseball you have to constantly make the most minutiae improvements to stay ahead of the curve. What makes Jo Adell so good isn’t just his supreme hitting tools, his A+ defensive work or elite mentality; what really puts him over the top is his consistent and considerable adjustments.

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There are players who take weeks, even months to make critical adjustments, both in the Majors and Minors. I always liked to say when watching Jo Adell play; this kid can adjust to the game so fast he would make adjustments in the middle of a pitch if need be. Over the course of the 2018 season, his first full season, Adell hit .290/.355/.543 with 20 HR’s and 77 RBI’s. What really pops about that line is the power production, usually the first couple of seasons are just stretching of the muscles. You don’t usually see 20 HR seasons from 19 year olds in the Minors; there are a lot of factors to consider here, the biggest one being that Adell is still developing his power.

There were concerns regarding how far his hit tools could really go coming out of the draft. Those concerns haven’t held much water as we’ve seen Jo Adell put up one of the best hitting seasons of any Minor Leaguer. There is so much to love about his hit tools; he has a quick as the wind bat and makes supreme contact. His power is completely natural, just a simple punctuation on his supreme ability to make contact. The only concern is his strike-out rate as he did see 111 total K’s to only 32 BBs, though this is about par for the course. Despite his advanced plate approach there is still some maturation to be desired from his overall discipline, though based off how well he adjusts there’s no real concern here.

Defensively, Jo Adell is a stud. He has A+ speed and makes use of it in every way, from pinpoint tracking to closing speed and gap coverage, Jo Adell can do it all. To top it all off he has a powerful arm capable of delivering rockets into the infield. Though he is a primary centerfielder there is the thought that he would fit very well in right-field, especially with Mike Trout manning the captain’s chair. Adell is the quintessential first round pick and looks to deliver on every ounce of that value in the future.

Jo Adell is a superstar in the making. He doesn’t just have All-Star potential, he has the potential to be a star among the All-Stars. A future World Series champ, not just because of how good he is, but because of how strongly he anchors and leads a team. Jo Adell is the exact type of piece the Angels need to make a legitimate World Series run; he isn’t just good for himself, he’s good for the Angels and the world of baseball.

LA Angels Prospect Countdown: #2 Griffin Canning. Next

There is a powerful core of young Angels ready to come up and lead the team to the promised land, and though he isn’t the first of that youth wave he will be the piece that brings it all together.

Developmental Needs: Plate Discipline, Time

Best Tools: Plate Approach, Bat Speed, Contact Ability, Raw Power, Speed, Defensive Ability, Base-running, Leadership by Example, Elite Mentality

MLB ETA: 2020

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