LA Angels: Six Prospects Who Proved Themselves in Spring Training

It was a showing of the very near future for the LA Angels team, a future that included Top Prospects as well as some unknown stand-outs. Let’s take a look at the prospects that dazzled the most, from the most obvious to the ones no one saw coming.

The Angels future is very bright indeed; these shining stars of the future were almost blinding in this recent Spring Training. From Matt Thaiss winning the Fred Haney Award for Most Impressive Rookie in Spring Training to Brandon Marsh solidifying himself as a legitimate piece of the future who may be closer than anyone expected. What made this Spring so great from all these young prospects wasn’t just the Top Prospects showing their value, but also the in-betweeners that no one saw coming.

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Championship ball clubs aren’t built on a few star talents, there has to be a strong supporting cast that can build a powerful foundation for the stars to thrive upon. We’ve seen how the Angels have fared by fielding a few stars with little meat in-between. If this Spring is anything to go off of, the Angels are going to have a proper club from bottom to middle to top very soon.

Jo Adell

Of course we have to start this piece off with none other than the most obvious star.

Jo Adell, the Angels #1 prospect, is a star among stars. Many compare him to Mike Trout in terms of how he approaches the game with a humble, mindful approach. He’s has an infallible elite mentality that constantly pushes his talents to grow in new ways. Even though he finished the 2018 season in Double A, where he slashed .290/.355/.543 across 440 MiLB Plate Appearances, he was still able to adjust to Big League competition this Spring and hang with the big boys. One of the standout qualities that makes Adell so special is this ability to adjust on the fly to the ever amorphous game of baseball.

This Spring is a perfect example of how that ability carries Jo Adell to new heights at a speedy pace. While he did start the Spring a bit slow he did as he always does and adjusted himself to the brand new environment in almost the snap of a finger. Before his untimely injuries (left hamstring/right ankle) that came from a base-running hiccup Adell was slashing a line of .341/.462/.478 in 26 PA’s. Unfortunately we will have to wait to see more of Adell as he won’t be returning to baseball activities for a month or so, but from what we saw it’s no question that he’ll find his way around Double/Triple A pitching sooner than later. From there he will quickly put himself in a position to compete with the MLB club in 2019.

Again, this was all done at the age of 19, so if he keeps up this developmental pace he’s practically guaranteed to be a full-time Angel by the age of 21. It’s also a strong possibility that he finishes the 2019 season with the MLB club depending on how quickly he is able to move to Triple A and adjust to that elevated pace of play. For now let’s just look forward to Adell recovering from his injury and keeping in strong spirits until the time to return to the field comes.