Baseball America

LOS ANGELES ANGELS TOP 10 PROSPECTS

1. JO ADELL, OF

AGE: 22. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-3. WT: 215. DRAFTED: HS—Louisville, 2017 (1st round). SIGNED BY: John Burden.

TRACK RECORD: The 10th overall pick in 2017, Adell made his major league debut in 2020 and flashed some of the tools that made him the organization’s most touted prospect since Mike Trout. In his peak moment, he crushed a 437-foot homer to left field that left his bat at 110 mph and also hit a 107 mph laser off the top of the right field wall in a 16-3 Angels victory against the Mariners. But that performance was more the exception than the rule during an uneven rookie season marked by a high strikeout rate, lengthy power droughts and several defensive gaffes. Adell had just 27 games of Triple-A experience when he was called up in early August to replace slumping veteran Justin Upton. His lack of upper-level experience showed. He looked overmatched at the plate, hitting .161/.212/.266 with a 42% strikeout rate, and was uncomfortable and unsure of himself in right field. He committed a rare four-base error in which a fly ball popped out of his glove and over the wall on Aug. 9 and had another ball pop out of his glove over the fence on the final day of the season.

Despite Adell’s ugly debut, evaluators still view him as a potential impact player. He is a broad-shouldered, muscular and dynamic athlete who boasts plus-plus raw power, excellent bat speed and quick hands that allow him to drive the ball to all fields and get to high pitches. He has plus

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