LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Aaron Judge, the $360 million man who pummeled major-league pitching for 62 home runs last season, was 24 years and 109 days old before he delivered his first big-league homer for the New York Yankees.
Paul Goldschmidt won the National League Most Valuable Player award last season. Goldschmidt turned 25 during his first 20-home run season.
In other words, power hitters can require more than 522 major league at bats to figure it out.
As the 2023 baseball season lifts off, Jo Adell, the former Ballard High School star, is sending thunderous hints that he is doing precisely that — four days after Adell turned 24.
Adell homered in the first inning of the Salt Lake City Bees game last Tuesday. He also homered Wednesday. And Thursday. And Friday. And Saturday.
🚨JO ADELL BREAKS THE FRANCHISE RECORD WITH 6 CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A HOME RUN🚨 pic.twitter.com/U1gbVyjjzs
— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 9, 2023
On Sunday, Adell did not rest. He homered twice — a two-run blast in the sixth inning followed by another two-run homer in the eighth.
Over six games, Adell set the franchise record by homering seven times. His seven home runs and 15 runs batted in lead all of minor league baseball.
(Thursday edit: Adell made it 8 home runs in 7 games by going deep in the seventh inning Wednesday night. He also had 2 singles in 5 at bats.)
"We didn’t realize there was a streak until somebody mentioned it," said Adell’s father, Scott. "He tries to block it all out and keep playing.
"When I finally asked him about it, he told he was going to stick with his plan and keep swinging."
The streak, for the record, ended Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Adell went 0-for-4 with a walk.
In the six consecutive games when Adell went deep, he hit 9 for 26 (.346 batting average) with a pair of doubles, seven home runs, 12 runs batted in, four walks and a dozen strikeouts.
#Angels outfielder Jo Adell headlines the season’s first Triple-A Players of the Week after hitting .346 with seven home runs, 12 RBIs and 32 total bases for @SaltLakeBees.🏆 : https://t.co/sXYwtlzeLY pic.twitter.com/PtWZqVpYnc
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 10, 2023
Consider it the latest powerful reminder of Adell’s considerable potential, potential that convinced the Angels to draft him out of Ballard with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 MLB free agent draft. Remember he just turned 24.
Adell was 21 when he made his big-league debut on Aug. 4, 2020. For three consecutive seasons the Angels gave him brief opportunities to hold a spot in their outfield next to Mike Trout.
An inability to make consistent contact stopped Adell from becoming a big-league regular. Over 522 at-bats, his batting average is .215 with an on-base percentage of .259 and a strikeout rate of nearly 35% in all plate appearances. His development is ongoing.
Shohei Ohtani, the Angels’ best player, will be a free agent after this season. Ohtani has yet to play in the post-season. The daunting task of trying to retain Ohtani and signing him to what will certainly be the largest contract in MLB history will be more difficult if the Angels cannot convince him the franchise serious about winning in October. So waiting on the development of Adell or any young hitter was not Plan A for 2023.
The Angels traded for veteran outfielder Hunter Renfroe and plugged him into right field, next to Trout and left-fielder Taylor Ward. They started this season with Adell and two other prospects with high draft pedigrees playing for Salt Lake City in Triple A.
Adell had his own plan. For the first time in his career, he stayed in the Phoenix area throughout the off season, training for 2023.
"Jo’s always had an incredible work ethic but after last season he told me that he was going to work even harder for 2023," Scott Adell said.
"He said he would not be home for Thanksgiving and he would only be home briefly for Christmas."
How briefly?
"He came in the day before Christmas and he went back to Arizona the day after Christmas," Scott Adell said.
That qualifies as a brief visit. At Ballard, Adell weighed about 195 pounds. Before the 2022 season, he was 208. When Adell reported to spring training this season, he was 235 pounds with a body fat percentage of 6.5, the benefit of investing nearly four hours in the gym every day. He also adjusted his swing, as many hitters do.
"He told me it was the strongest he’s been in his life," Scott Adell said.
For the first two weeks of the minor-league baseball season, Jo Adell has delivered that message to Pacific Coast League pitchers, too. As impressive as the power has been, Adell has shown improvement in managing the strike zone.
Last season in 40 AAA games, Adell has walk rate of 11% and a strikeout rate of 31.1%. This season, in 10 games, his walk rate is 17% with a strikeout rate of 29.7%.
"When you first get to the major leagues, things move very fast," Scott Adell. "It takes a minute for the game to slow down so that you know what to expect.
"I believe with every season the game slows down a couple of frames. I think (Jo) has learned how to manage all the outside noise and just keep working on his craft."
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.