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SALT LAKE CITY — Jo Adell waited for the perfect time to strike, as a pair of his teammates danced around the bases in front of him during the Salt Lake Bees' Wednesday afternoon matinee.
The opportunity arose on a 3-1 count. Tacoma Rainiers pitcher Jose Rodriquez hurled a pitch that caught too much of the plate, and Adell made him pay, rifling it 470 feet to dead center to put the Bees ahead 3-0. The moment set minor league social media ablaze, as the blast was just the latest in a handful of moonshots that the Bees outfielder has already authored this season.
Adell entered Friday batting .300, with a minor league-leading 12 home runs, and collecting 33 hits through 29 games this season. He's also driven in 25 runs with a 1.104 OPS. His blistering first month is creating a buzz because Adell was once the Los Angeles Angels' top prospect and one of the best in all of baseball not too long ago.
However, it's been a struggle to replicate his minor-league statistics in the big leagues so far. Adell, who turned 24 last month, slashed a .215/.259/.615 line in 522 at-bats over the past three seasons with the Angels, and started this season in Triple-A Salt Lake once again.
But he has new weapons this time around that could be what it takes to clear the final last hurdle in his pro career — from a new approach at the plate to a different workout regime. He's worked to pick and choose which pitches to try and unload on, which has already led to a 61-point higher batting average and better home run rate than a comparable stretch of Triple-A games last year.
"I think the big thing for me is that I've changed my idea of what getting beat is, and knowing there are certain pitches I'm not going to be able to hit and certain pitches I will be able to hit," says Adell, as he sits on a bench in the Smith's Ballpark dugout on Friday. "There are certain parts of the plate where I do a good job hitting and I try to zone in on those (parts); and when those mistakes arrive, I'm ready. ... It's honestly more mental in the approach aspect than it is physically."
That said, he also gained about 15 pounds of muscle over the offseason as he spends more time lifting weights than ever before. He used to hit the weight room during the season but now he's lifting weights three to four days a week, which he credits for all those moonshots. He believes he's able to drive the ball further with less effort than he did before.
The more that I play the more I understand my routine — whether it's here or in the big leagues — is my routine. I can go back and trust, believe and know that (it) has a history of success.
–Salt Lake Bees outfielder Jo Adell
It's a component of a new weekly regime that he developed as he dwelled on what's worked from the pieces of his three seasons in the big leagues, which also includes having a consistent approach in the batting cage between games.
"(It's) not in a superstitious way but having a routine, saying 'as long as I get my routine in, I've done the most I can do to get ready to play the game,'" he adds. "The lifting is huge. I lift every other day, so that's been kind of a game-changer for me this year."
Others in the clubhouse have taken notice, especially Bees skipper Keith Johnson, who is coaching Adell for the first time this season after spending last year as a first base coach for the Miami Marlins. Johnson said he admires the outfielder's athleticism, power and improving defense, calling him a natural talent.
Yet what impresses him the most is Adell's consistent approach this season, both in the clubhouse and at the plate.
"It's like right now, if this were a major league game, if this is a (Single-A) game, if this was a tee-ball game — it doesn't matter — he's going about his business the same (way)," Johnson said.
It's impossible to know whether that will carry over to the Angels, but Johnson said it's the type of work ethic that should improve his chances to stick in the big leagues.
Adell is quite aware that his next opportunity could be right around the corner, too, though it's something far from his mind. He's thinking about doing the same thing he's done all season; and once the next call-up arrives, he plans on following his same routine in Los Angeles.
"Once you find that level of consistency in what you're doing, the success follows," he said. "The more that I play the more I understand my routine — whether it's here or in the big leagues — is my routine. I can go back and trust, believe and know that (it) has a history of success. ... I think I'm at a point now where I know what that is."
