Adell boosts plate aggression as he aims to 'bring the athlete out'
Rhett Bollinger
@RhettBollingerGOODYEAR, Ariz. -- When the Angels hosted the Rockies in late July last year, Jo Adell made a fundamental change to his swing that led to positive results, and he stuck with it the rest of the way.
Adell, who was hitting .192 with 15 homers through his first 97 games, ditched his leg kick and then hit .248/.320/.451 with five homers over the final 34 games of the season. It also helped him cut down his strikeout percentage from 29.1 percent to 24.8 percent.
But after working on his swing with the club¡¯s hitting coaches, Adell is experimenting with bringing back his leg kick this spring. He showcased what he can do with it with his towering grand slam off Dodgers right-hander Dustin May on Friday night and believes it¡¯ll help him, especially early in counts.
¡°Part of hitting is decision-making, but the other part is how athletic you're going to be in the box,¡± Adell said. ¡°And [hitting coaches] Johnny Washington and Tim Laker have been huge about whatever you¡¯ve got to do to bring the athlete out when you're playing, when you're in the box, that's what's going to give you your best chance. And so, for me, nothing is set in stone, but I'm going to make a move to be aggressive and be athletic.¡±
Adell, 25, said it¡¯s still a work in progress, and he could tamper it down with two strikes much like shortstop Zach Neto does with his leg kick. His single off hard-throwing right-hander Gavin Williams on Tuesday came on an 0-1 count without a leg kick, and he said he¡¯ll adjust it situationally and based on who he is facing.
¡°I'm at the point where it could be a two-strike thing,¡± Adell said. ¡°It could be something to simplify me in certain counts. Zach did a really good job the last year of implementing that in a two-strike situation with a hybrid version of his kick. And for me, I wouldn't really call it a kick. It's more kind of like a lift, something kind of like a step. But I definitely want to do something that's gonna free me up earlier in the count.¡±
Angels manager Ron Washington said he¡¯s on board with Adell¡¯s mechanical adjustments and met with him last week to tell him to be more aggressive at the plate this spring. Adell looked passive early, going 0-for-9 before snapping out of his funk. But he also noted things can change if it doesn¡¯t work.
¡°That's called an adjustment,¡± Washington said. ¡°Sometimes you make adjustments and they work for a few minutes, and then you¡¯ve got to make another adjustment. That's what you do in Spring Training, locking him in on something that's going to be up to Jo.¡±
Adell is also adjusting to the move to center field this season, with superstar Mike Trout moving over to right field. It¡¯s been a work in progress for Adell this spring, as Washington noted he¡¯s had trouble getting good reads in center. But he also said it has also been an issue for fellow outfielder Mickey Moniak, who has more experience at the position and will split time in center with Adell this year.
¡°Being able to read the ball off the bat, that's been the big thing,¡± Washington said. ¡°It¡¯s been surprising, Moniak, too. But they haven't been getting the reads off the bat. We know they can do it, and we¡¯re just gonna keep running them out there and it'll get better.¡±
Washington added that Adell had trouble defensively last spring, as well, before working hard to develop into a plus defender in right, including being named a finalist for the Gold Glove award. He said it¡¯s just a matter of time before he improves.
¡°He's gonna pick it up,¡± Washington said. ¡°That's why they call it Spring Training, and you¡¯ve got to stay patient. And I¡¯ve got patience, because I know what can happen. So we're just going to keep running them out there, keep working with them.¡±
Adell has just 15 big league appearances in center compared to 196 in right and 96 in left. But he said he¡¯s enjoyed working with coaches Bo Porter and Eric Young Sr., and he thinks his defense will get better with more experience.
¡°It's funny, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve played [exclusively] center since probably high school days or like a year after, but it's been good,¡± Adell said. ¡°Out here in camp in spring, it's a little more ground to cover than normal with the Spring Training fields, but it's been good.¡±