5:24 AM UTC
“Come on, Jo, that ball has babies.”
That was Salt Lake Bees broadcaster Steve Klauke’s home run call after Jo Adell’s most recent moonshot on Tuesday night.
Down by three runs in the bottom of the eighth, Adell absolutely destroyed a 3-0 slider, 514 feet to left-center field and out of Salt Lake City’s Smith’s Ballpark. The three-run shot jumped off Adell’s bat at 113.6 mph and was the longest homer hit in both MiLB and MLB this season. Not only that, but it’s also longer than any MLB homer tracked by Statcast.
Two at-bats earlier, in the fifth inning, Adell was in a similar scenario. With a 3-0 count, the 24-year-old outfielder watched a strike in the middle of the zone and ultimately ended up walking. That walk stayed in Adell’s mind into the eighth.
“When I came up during that at-bat, I kind of got the same sequence, it was a 3-0 count, runners were on base this time and I figured if I get something in the zone, just be ready,” Adell said. “I happened to get a pitch that was over the plate, and I put probably one of my best swings ever on it.”
The former Top 100 prospect has been annihilating baseballs for the Triple-A Angels affiliate all season. The tank he hit Tuesday marks his MiLB leading 20th long ball of the year.
While the tater tied the game at 11 runs apiece, the Bees ended up falling to the Space Cowboys 12-11, after Sugar Land answered with a ninth inning jack to re-take the lead.
Adell finished the game 1-for-4 with a walk. So far this season, he has a .284 batting average and a .960 OPS, the highest mark of his career.
The former first-round pick has had his fair share of ups and downs as a professional, but this season he has reinvented himself at the dish. The change isn’t anything mechanical; it’s all about being in the right headspace. He credits this refined mindset to the Angels coaching staff.
“I’m seeing a lot of improvements everywhere, with all of our guys at the plate,” Adell said. “The ability to go out and be who you are, I think we talk a little too much about what the body’s doing, and not enough about what you’re thinking.”
Keeping his mind calm has been a key to Adell’s success. Before games, he listens to R&B singer Keyshia Cole to get his mind in the right place. Most players are listening to hip-hop or rap to get pumped, but Adell does the opposite.
On June 8, the Kentucky native got an opportunity to play with the big-league club for a few games. In his lone start, Adell crushed a 451-foot home run off Cubs left-hander Drew Smyly.
“I think the transition of having the mindset of wanting to win the game, regardless of where I was, if I can stay in that mind frame the moment doesn’t get too big, and the ups and downs ride that wave,” Adell said.
While Adell might not know the next time he’ll be in The Show, he plans to stay present and enjoy his time until then.
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