Angels Manager Has All The Confidence In the World in Jo Adell

Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington's belief in outfielder Jo Adell has paid off, as the 26-year-old has been a force for the Angels offense this season.

Adell leads MLB in home runs in June with eight and has slugged 15 on the season, just five shy of the career-high 20 he put up in 2024.

The center fielder is on track to hit above league average for the first time in his career and is well on his way to shattering all of the career highs he set in his first full MLB season.

“He’s getting there,” Washington said. “Last year is included in him getting there. This year, Jo has been allowed to, all of a sudden, get out there every day and show what he can do. You’ve got to take the ups and downs that come along with that.

"But me, personally, I told you a long time ago, I’m a Jo Adell fan. You give him the at-bats, he’s gonna punch 30 out of the ballpark. You don’t find that. And he’s working hard on his defense. He’s a great teammate. So he has a lot of qualities that you like. And we’re on him, man. We’re on him hard. We told him it we were gonna be on him hard, and he’s accepting the challenge.”

Since June 1, Adell leads qualified Angels with a .667 slugging percentage, .421 wOBA, 13 runs batted in and a 174 wRC+. He has risen far above the Mendoza line this month — batting .246 to raise his season average to .221 — and has an OPS+ of 111, bringing him above league average in what would be the best finish of his career.

Over the past two seasons, Adell has shaved his whiff percentage to 29.4 from 38.5 and his strikeout percentage from 40.3 to 24.8, both of which are huge contributors to his success.

His 99th percentile bat speed produces hard contact 73% of the time, as is shown by his .228 BABIP nearly matching his .221 batting average.

Adell has also taken a new approach into the box, swinging at the first pitch 46.5% of the time to try to make early contact to cut down on strikeouts, the biggest flaw in his game in seasons past.

With his progress this season, Adell has become a staple in the Angels lineup and will hope to continue contributing as they make a push for a Wild Card spot.

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