Jo Adell looking as motivated as ever in Spring Training photo

It's safe to say Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell has his doubters. I'm one of them. Adell was a former first-round pick and a top prospect. He's struggled mightily at the big league level. It's good to see the young outfielder looking motivated to turn things around.

Jo Adell looks noticeably fit as he arrived at Angels Spring Training

It helps that Adell is walking next to Livan Soto and David Fletcher, two of the smaller guys on the team, but Jo Adell looks like he's put on a ton of muscle which is great to see. It's obvious he's been working hard to make improvements.

Adell lost any chance at an Opening Day roster spot when the Angels traded for Hunter Renfroe and signed Brett Phillips to a one-year deal. Barring injury, the young outfielder will be in AAA.

I think this is good for Adell who has things he needs to improve on. Adell slashed .224/.264/.373 with eight home runs and 27 RBI in 88 games. He struck out 37.5% of the time while walking just 3.9% of the time. The physical tools are there, as Adell has the ability to hit a ball 450+ feet and be the fastest runner on the team. The problem is, he's had trouble swinging at pitches he should be swinging at and making contact.

According to Phil Nevin who spoke with Jeff Fletcher of OC Register, Adell is up from 210 to 225 pounds.

"“What this guy has done in the last four or five months for me is as impressive as anything he could have done during the season last year,” Nevin said. “No vacations. Nothing. This guy didn’t miss a day. I’m really proud of the work he’s doing.”"

Phil Nevin

Nevin says that nobody has been working harder than Adell which is great to see given his struggles. Hard work doesn't guarantee anything, but it's easy to expect Adell to be better than he was at the end of last season.

It's very unlikely he makes the Opening Day roster without an injury, but if Adell keeps working like this it wouldn't be shocking to see him with the Big League club at some point this season.

Keep grinding, Jo!