MLBbro Jo Adell Sent To Triple-A Salt Lake | Will It Be A Short Stay?

MLBbro Jo Adell Sent To Triple-A Salt Lake | Will It Be A Short Stay?

by | May 7, 2022 | 5TH SLOT

It turned out to be a tough week for our MLBbro. Jo Adell was sent down by the Los Angeles Angels to their Triple-A affiliate on Tuesday. Infielder Jose Rojas will take Adell’s roster spot.

The move is considered a mild surprise considering Adell’s 2022 spring training performance was so impressive that the Angels designated Justin Upton to the minors in April. After Upton’s departure, the plan was to have a four-man outfield rotation with Taylor Ward, Brandon Marsh and Adell surrounding Mike Trout in center field.

 

 

Adell’s demotion wasn’t about his slow start as much as the outstanding starts of Marsh, and Ward, who just collected an A.L. Player of the Week award. Their production phased out Jo’s opportunity to play. 

Our MLBbro obviously was upset, but said he understands that this is the nature of the business via The Orange County Register. 

“This is a really strong team and these guys are great,” Adell said. “These players out here are unbelievable. And we formed something that’s been a really, really strong unit. And it’s been tough to weave my way into the lineup with the level of play that these guys have right now. …

“Joe [Maddon] mentioned in the meeting that playing every third or second day or fourth day or whatever has been kind of tough. Hopefully, me getting back on my rhythm and getting in there every day and kind of just developing more of a routine would probably help me out a little bit more.”

Before being designated, Adell slashed .231/.242/.431 (.673 OPS) with three homers at the plate in 19 games. While those numbers aren’t considered bust-worthy, his 24 strikeouts with only one walk in 66 plate appearances will be a point of emphasis in Salt Lake.

But according to the Angels front office, this move is all about Adell.  The Angels want him to keep his rhythm by playing every day in Triple A and not being buried on the bench with the big club.

“Wardy has been great, Marsh has played really well and center field is taken by a pretty good player too,” General Manager Perry Minasian said. “I think for him and his development, just to get regular at-bats, regular defensive reps will help him. He’s come a long way. He’s made a lot of strides. I’m very optimistic at some point this year he’s going to help us win some games. He already has, but I think just the regular reps will be important.”

It is clear at this point that the Los Angeles Angels haven’t given up on Adell — and they shouldn’t. The 10th overall pick in the 2017 Draft has only played 92 games over three seasons including the pandemic season in 2020. Why give up on a guy that just turned 23 the day after the season opened?

 

 

The most important part of this designation assignment is that both parties are onboard with the future plans of this MLBbro in the minors. Adell will use this as an opportunity to get better according to Sports Illustrated.

“I’m not thrilled about it,” he said. “I mean, I’m not going to throw a parade about getting sent down, but I’m gonna try my best to get back. … I’m not going to hang my head low. I’ve got enough confidence in my game and what I’m capable of to know at some point, my time is gonna come where I’m going to be able to be out here very day and help these guys. And so hopefully I can get back and get myself where the standards are for this club and these guys and be able to come back and help.”

If Adell and his coaches can combine improvement of his offensive and defensive tendencies with his natural abilities — power, speed and arm strength, this MLBbro will be one of the comeback stories of the postseason. 

The Future Of Black Superman Is Uncertain After Kryptonite Ravaged 2021 season

The Future Of Black Superman Is Uncertain After Kryptonite Ravaged 2021 season

by | Sep 23, 2021 | THE THREE SPOT

Per MLB.com, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Justin Upton will miss the rest of the season due to a right lumbar strain. The diagnosis sent Upton to the 10-day Injury list at the beginning of the month, but the injury has not progressed enough for the veteran to return.

When the team initially placed him on the IL earlier this month, Angels manager Joe Madden said he did not anticipate Upton returning during the last leg of the season as the team was already out of playoff contention.

Madden told OCRegister.com, “I like the guy a lot. He has leadership qualities among the group. He really does, and I would like to believe that there is more of what we saw when he was really hot. He carried us for about a month.”

Upton rode the wave of his 2020 finale at the start of the year as he hit .320 with an on-base plus slug of 1.020 throughout a 25-game span.

The numbers spike came at the hands of Madden shuffling the lineup to have Upton bat leadoff from early April to late May.

This was around the time his back discomfort started taking shape, which led to his extended stint on the IL. 

Numerous injuries caused the 34-year-old to come up short for the third consecutive season for the Angels; Two of which were due to back injuries, as mentioned earlier.

He finished the year averaging .211 with an on-base plus slugging percentage of .705, 41 RBI, and 17 home runs in 89 games.

Although he finished the pandemic shortened season on fire, J-Up struggled so much in the earlier parts of the season that his performance relegated him to pine; And the 2019 season resembled 2021 as he missed most of the year due to a plethora of injuries.

Upton is a career .262 hitter throughout numerous stops around the league with the Arizona Diamondback, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, and Angels with 1,000 RBI and 324 homers in 1,828 games. 

With high praise from his manager to the organization’s respect and being a leader for his peers, Upton will be roaming the grass in the city of angels if he has the willpower to overcome the injury kryptonite.

 

But if this is the end of an illustrious career, well, let’s say it’s been a heck of a ride.

 

#HIGHFIVE | Top 5 MLBbros (Week 11)

#HIGHFIVE | Top 5 MLBbros (Week 11)

by | Jun 18, 2021 | THE THREE SPOT

Taijuan Walker has silenced many of his haters this season by taking the city that never sleeps by storm.  He has the seventh-lowest ERA in the Major Leagues and struck out a career-high 12 batters during his start this week against the Chicago Cubs. 

 For that, he earns the top spot on this week’s #HighFive weekly rankings. 

1. Taijuan “Fly Tai” Walker

Through the first three months of the season, Taijuan Walker has been the steal of the off season.  The Mets were the only team to offer him a contract, which is for 2 years and $20 million with a player option for the third. 

“Everything’s worked out well for everyone,” Walker told reporters.  “I’m glad the Mets were my only offer.

 

 

In Tuesday’s start against the Cubs, Walker struck out a career-high 12 batters and lowered his ERA to 2.12 which is good for seventh in the league.  It was his third start this season without allowing a walk and he has caught fire since returning from the Injured List.

In the four starts since his return, Walker has thrown 24 innings and struck out 31 hitters.  

 

 

His Black Knight rotation mate Marcus Stroman has been the Andre 3000 to Walker’s Big Boi.  In his last two starts, Stroman has thrown 13 innings with 15 strikeouts and only one earned run.

Taijuan will get the Fathers Day start for the Mets as they travel to the nation’s capital to take on Josh Harrison, Josh Bell and the rest of the Nationals.

 

2. Mookie Betts

We have high expectations for Mookie, being that he is the best player in all of baseball.  He got off to a slow start this season for his standards, but during the past week, Betts showed flashes of his MVP-caliber skills.

He’s hit .318 with three home runs, four RBI, eight runs, five walks and a .727 Slugging Percentage in his last seven games.

Bett’s has four multi-hit games this month and on Tuesday night against the Phillies, it was the 7th inning of a 3-3 game when Mookie stepped to the plate and blasted a solo home run. 

It was the first time he hit a homer with Dodger stadium completely full. 

 

 

Mookie travels to Arizona this weekend to take on the Diamondbacks who will be rocking their city connect uniforms on Friday night.

3. Marcus “Rock Any Park U” Semien

Marcus Semien has kept his hot bat from the month of May going in June. The reigning American League Player of the Month is batting .263 with three home runs this month, including a leadoff bomb Wednesday night against the Yankees’ Garrett Cole.  

Through his last seven games, Semien is hitting .286 with three home runs, six RBI, seven runs and a stolen base.  He is on track to start at second base for the American League All-Star team and is in the middle of what is a career year leading up to his free agency this offseason.

 

4. Bobby Bradley

Bobby Bradley has been rocking out since joining Cleveland on June 5th as they have been riddled with injuries and he has given them exactly what they have been missing: power at the first base position. Thursday Bradley hit his fourth home run in just 10 games this season.  He is now batting .375 with four home runs and 11 RBI. 

 

 

Bradley has also helped the Indians stay afloat in a wide-open American League.  Since his call up they have a record of 8-2 and sit in second place in the American League Central, four games behind Tim Anderson’s White Sox while being only a game back of Michael Brantley and the Houston Astros for the final Wild Card spot.

 

Bobby Bradley Isn’t Giving Cleveland A Chance To Send Him Back To The Minors

 

After finishing a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles Thursday, Bradley will travel to Pittsburg to take on Ke’Bryan Hayes and the Pirates.

5. J-Up 

Justin Upton was named Rob Parker’s Home Boi Highlight after batting .360 with 10 runs scored and two home runs last week.  He recently moved to the leadoff spot in the Angels lineup and raised his batting average from .120 to .232.  

 

Home Boi Highlights | Justin Upton

 

In his last seven games, Upton is batting .259 with seven hits, seven runs and has drawn seven walks with a .412 On-Base Percentage.

J-Up and his Angels will take on Akil “the Trill” Baddoo and the Detroit Tigers in sunny Los Angeles for a four-game series this weekend.