Los Angeles Angels' Jo Adell Joins Shohei Ohtani in Team History
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Welcome back, Jo Adell!
The Los Angeles Angels once-heralded top prospect made his return to Anaheim in a big way on Thursday, homering in his first at-bat off of Drew Smyly of the Chicago Cubs.
In doing so, he joined legend Shohei Ohtani in some team history.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on Twitter:
JO ADELL 117.2 MPH
that’s tied with a 6/28/21 Shohei Ohtani HR for the Angels’ 2nd-hardest hit HR tracked by Statcast (2015), behind only:
6/25/22 Ohtani: 118.0 mph
it’s also the Angels’ hardest-hit batted ball of 2023
So in just his first at-bat of the season, he ties Ohtani for the second-hardest hit ball in the last eight years AND then also hits the hardest ball for the team all season? That's a way to welcome yourself back to the big leagues.
Adell is a former first-round pick out of the Kentucky high school ranks who made his debut in 2020 but really struggled at the big league level.
He hit .161 in 2020 after his call-up, hit .246 in 35 games in 2021 and then hit .224 in 88 games in the 2022 season.
If the Angels can count on him to perform for the rest of the season, he's a huge boon to a lineup that already features Ohtani and Mike Trout.
At the time of this posting, the Angels lead the Cubs, 2-1, in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Angels entered play at 33-30 and in third place in the American League West.
They'll play the Seattle Mariners for a divisional series beginning Friday.
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