Angels News: Phil Nevin Compares Jo Adell’s Talent Level to Mike Trout

The former first-round pick received some very high praise from his manager.

Angels manager Phil Nevin had some high praise for outfielder Jo Adell at the Winter Meetings — some very high praise.

Adell has struggled early in his MLB career. The former first-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft has yet to live up to his billing, hitting .215 with 15 home runs and 60 RBIs through his first 161 games across three seasons. Last year, he had just a .637 OPS, a 77 wRC+ and a -0.3 fWAR across 285 plate appearances.

However, when Nevin was asked about Adell at the Winter Meetings, he was not shy in making some very lofty comparisons to another Angels superstar.

"He’s a talented guy," Nevin said in regards to Adell. "If you look around the room, I’ll put him up with Mike [Trout] as far as the talent level goes. Am I saying he’s Mike Trout? Absolutely not. I would never compare players, make those comparisons. I don’t like doing that."

You're probably wondering how he could make such a comparison, considering Trout is one of the greatest players in baseball history, and Adell is struggling to get playing time. However, he explained that his talent level is as high as anybody he's seen.

"You watch him take BP, he hits the ball farther than anybody," Nevin said about Adell. "You watch him throw in the outfield, he throws better than anybody. He threw 95, 96 in high school. You watch him field balls in the outfield. You watch him run the bases, he’s in the elite category in all those levels."

Obviously it hasn't all come together for Adell yet, but he is just 23-years-old. The Angels have three good outfielders who will play on an everyday basis next year, so the pressure won't be on Adell to contribute every night. He'll have time to work on his craft, as he's doing this offseason, and hopefully start to reach his potential. Nevin thinks he's going to get there sooner rather than later.

"And how it’s going to be all put together on the field at one time, I think it’s going to come at some point," Nevin said. "And you’re going to see a really, really good Major League player."

Angels fans would love for Nevin to be correct. If Adell can reach his full potential, fans can feel a lot better about the future of their ballclub — that's, of course, assuming he doesn't get traded beforehand.