Jo Adell is the Latest Example of Patience

Patience is needed with most prospects.

In today’s game, prospects are viewed as gold and fans are confident that their team’s top prospects are going to be stars. Sometimes, prospects adjust to the big league game rather quickly like Roman Anthony or Nick Kurtz. However, most prospects go through a painful learning curve. When players are called up and initially struggle, it feels like they are often labeled a bust and are discarded as part of the team’s future. But that’s not actually the case.

Sometimes, it takes players additional time in the minors or a few seasons at the big league level to figure things out. The issue is team’s that are trying to compete for playoff spots do not typically have the ability to give players 250 - 500 at bats to figure things out. But whether teams can give young players at bats or not, fans should not lose faith in players in their early 20s. Jo Adell is this year’s example that sometimes, players just need time.

The Los Angeles Angels drafted Jo Adell with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 draft. Adell quickly moved up the prospect rankings and was the 6th overall prospect according to MLB.com and the 3rd ranked prospect according to Baseball America in 2020. Prospects who rank in the top 3 of the sport have a high rate of becoming a big leaguer and are often stars in the league. Complete misses are rare.

Prior to this season, Jo Adell was looking like a gigantic miss for the Angels. From his debut in 2020 - 2023, Adell had 619 plate appearances and had a slash line of .210 / .257 / .374. The real issue was Adell had a 35.6% K-rate as he was missing to many pitches in the strike zone. His inconsistencies with the bat caused him to be promoted and demoted over those four years.

Last year, Adell began to show signs that he was slowly figuring things out as he hit 20 home runs with 62 RBI in 451 plate appearances. However, Adell still only hit .207 with a .280 OBP. While the power numbers were encouraging, the inability to consistently hit big league pitching and draw walks were holding Adell back from tapping into his potential. One underlying number that was encouraging was that Adell only struck out 27.9% of the time in 2024, which was down from 40.3% of time in 2023.

The interesting thing about Adell is last year was his age 25 season. Adell debuted back in 2020 at the age of 21. We often forget that at age 21 and 22, prospects could still be playing in college. For someone like Adell who was drafted out of high school and fast tracked to the big leagues, his development was nowhere finished when he debuted for the Angels. He was learning on the job as a young adult in a league that is extremely advanced compared to the successes he experienced in Triple-A. If he went from Triple-A and expected Major League Baseball to be like the “4A” of the baseball world, it’s more like Major League Baseball is like the “8A” of the baseball world because of the talent gap.

At age 26, Jo Adell seems to have figured things out. He’s slashing .243 / .317 / .483 and is one home run shy (19) of his career high as the second half begins. Adell has once again lowered his K-rate to 23.6% and his zone contact percentage is at a career best 83.4%. Adell ranks 15th in baseball in barrel percentage (16.6%). His Baseball Savant page backs up his breakout season.

Since June 1st, Adell has been one of the game’s best hitters slashing .277 / .356 / .574 / with a 156 wRC+. That strong stretch is over an extended period of time. Adell looks like a confident hitter and once a player begins to believe he belongs, his natural ability can begin to take over. Adell looks like the middle of the order bat that the Angels thought he would become when they drafted him.

Time will truly tell if Jo Adell has figured things out completely. But what Adell has done in 2025 is not over a small sample. At age 26, it’s possible Adell is comfortable with his swing and now has the confidence that was missing to showcase his true ability.

If you’re a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and are frustrated with 23 year-old Jordan Walker’s early career in the big leagues, patience. If you’re a fan of any team with a prospect that has yet to have success in the big leagues, patience. Every player has their own unique developmental process and sometimes it just takes time. The Angels could have moved on from Adell but their patience is now being rewarded with an impact bat in their lineup.