Welcome to the Show, Jo Adell
Los Angeles Angels top prospect Jo Adell has been called up to the big leagues, while the status of Shohei Ohtani is up in the air. Jo Adell is a top-10 prospect in all of baseball and all eyes will be on him for the remainder of this season. He was called up today as first reported by Jon Heyman.
Jo Adell being called up by Angels
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 3, 2020
The Angels have sent down Jared Walsh and Michael Hermosillo. These moves will allow for Mike Trout to rejoin the club and for Adell to make his debut.
Jo Adell was on fire in spring training 2.0 and was almost certainly going to be making his debut this year. However, he did not make the opening day roster because manager Joe Maddon believed there was room for defensive improvement. Also, putting Adell on the roster now buys the Angels an extra year of his services. With Trout, Upton, and Goodwin as primary starters and Taylor Ward moving to right field, it made little sense to burn up a year of service time just to sit on the bench.
While Angels fans have eagerly awaited Adell’s MLB appearance, they should ensure their expectations remain caged and allow for Adell to grow. His explosive play mirrors some of the game’s best talent. However, through his time in the minors, he was prone to strikeouts. In AAA Salt Lake last season, he held a 32.6K% and a 31.0K% the year before in AA. He has also struggled with staying healthy for the duration of the season. He still was able to hit a .944 OPS in AA in 2018 and maintains unparalleled athleticism.
New Look Lineup
Jo Adell coming up means that someone is losing some playing time. Justin Upton has been struggling this season with a .108 batting average. He has a total of four hits with 14 strikeouts. If Upton were to see the bench, it would be understandable, except for his five-year, $108 million deal. That would be some valuable merchandise on the bench and all major league players have their ups and downs. Joe Maddon may not have the patience to wait for Upton to break out of it with a shortened season.
The other candidate to sit the bench is Brian Goodwin, despite being one of the hottest bats in the lineup. He is batting .333 with eight runs batted in. Goodwin has been nothing short of a boost for this roster that needed one with Anthony Rendon and Mike Trout both missing time. These two absences created a huge gap in the lineup, and Goodwin stepped up to the plate when the team needed him most.
Joe Maddon will be the one to make the call on Tuesday night. Until then, Angels Nation has to wait. This is going to feel like a long wait due to all of the hype around Jo Adell. Nothing, however, will be longer than the wait all of baseball endured from March to July.
Shohei Ohtani Facing Setback
The Angels announced late Monday afternoon that Shohei Ohtani has a strain on his flexor pronator mass. He will not be throwing a ball for 4-6 weeks and is expected to be day to day as the teams DH.
Update on Shohei Ohtani: pic.twitter.com/hZ8RJJzEdN
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 3, 2020
This is big news for a team that was ready to roll with all of its pieces in place and their top prospect to make his debut. Now the status of Ohtani is unknown and it seems likely that Jo Adell will be able to fill in at DH as needed.
Main Photo
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