This story was originally published by Dead Spin
The Los Angeles Angels will host the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif., both teams out of the playoff race but both with players trying to make their mark and prove they belong in the majors.
That’s been the case for a while now for Jo Adell, who likely will be starting in right field for the Angels on Thursday. Adell has had an up-and-down career, mostly down, but has shown signs this season he might turn out to be worthy of being a first-round draft pick in 2017.
Adell, who went 0-for-4 in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners, is hitting just .194 and hasn’t been above the .200 mark since June 4. However, he leads the team in homers (15) and RBIs (46). His strikeout rate is too high — he has struck out 33.4 percent of the time in his career — but has brought that down to 29.5 percent this season.
What might be surprising is that Adell is hitting well in clutch situations. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting .286 (20-for-70) with an .839 OPS this season. And most recently, he’s hitting .321 (9 for 28) with a .875 OPS in the past nine games.
“It’s been good,” Adell said. “Just really slowing it down when I get in those situations. That kind of ‘less is more’ mentality really helps me get pitches and not miss them. The homer is not always the answer, and I think that’s kind of summed up my last 10 games or so.”
Angels manager Ron Washington said he is pleased with Adell’s progress.
“It’s getting better and better every day,” Washington said. “And he’s getting an opportunity in those situations, and he’s learning how to deal with them. … He’s growing.”
Left-hander Kenny Rosenberg (0-0, 6.30 ERA) will make his first start of the season (third appearance) for the Angels. He is 5-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 14 starts for Triple-A Salt Lake.
Rosenberg has made two career relief appearances against Oakland, allowing one run in nine innings.
Right-hander Ross Stripling (1-9, 5.82) will make his 12th start of the season for the A’s. He is 1-3 with a 4.73 ERA in 10 career games (six starts) against the Angels.
Despite Wednesday’s 8-1 loss to the Houston Astros, the A’s have won five of their past seven games. And they have been led by outfielder Lawrence Butler, currently the hottest hitter in the majors.
Butler, who went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk on Wednesday, is hitting .500 (16-for-32) with 10 extra-base hits in his past seven games. In the month of July, he’s hitting .413 (26-for-63) with eight homers, 24 RBIs and a 1.408 OPS.
“I think it’s probably one of the best stretches in baseball right now,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “He’s maybe on his way to having a type of July that can be recognized, as well. … This kid just has the momentum right now. This is the type of baseball I thought he was capable of playing. Now, we’re starting to see it every day.”
–Field Level Media
