CLEVELAND -- When Los Angeles Angels outfield prospect Jo Adell badly injured his hamstring and ankle running the bases in an early spring training game, fantasy managers eager for a 2019 promotion to the big leagues groaned. After all, Adell, the No. 10 pick in the 2017 amateur draft, entered this season with just a few weeks of Double-A time, and this injury would cost him several months. How could he miss so much time early in 2019 and still debut? Fantasy managers moved turned their collective attention to other young players.
It might be time to rethink Adell's plight because not only did he heal, but he again looks like a future superstar. The cleanup hitter for the American League Futures team in Sunday's game at Cleveland, Adell enters the second half of the season hitting .360 for Double-A Mobile in the Southern League, showing his signature tools across the board: power, speed, and excellent defense. At 20, Adell's polished, physical gifts are clear, but he is also more mature than most prospects his age. I spoke to him prior to Sunday's game and asked him about his approach, and how his speed might -- and might not -- aid fantasy managers.
