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The Los Angeles Angels optioned outfielder Jo Adell to the minors on Sunday, ensuring that the former top prospect will begin the season at the alternate site.  

Adell, 22 years old come April 8, had a hellacious rookie season. In 38 big-league games last year, he batted .161/.212/.266 (31 OPS+) with 48 more strikeouts than walks. We recently highlighted his freshman-year struggles as part of an article concerning four young players who have the most to prove in 2021. Here's what we wrote:

Between now and that indeterminable date, Adell has a lot to work on. He struggled with pitch recognition, fishing after too many pitches below the zone and even looking uncomfortable on takes. He didn't show good bat-to-ball skills, either, and his 64.6 in-zone contact rate ranked 467th out of 475 players with at least 25 trips to the plate. Predictably, Adell tinkered with his swing in an attempt to find something that worked; nothing took: his .505 OPS in August was superior to his .437 OPS in September.

For as poor as the results were, Adell still showed the explosive bat and foot speed that made him a top prospect in the first place. He didn't connect often enough, but when he did, his average exit velocity (90.6 mph) ranked in the 78th percentile. His sprint speed, meanwhile, was in the 98th percentile, according to Statcast. Those innate traits are one reason to hold out hope. Another is that Adell didn't spend much time in the upper minors before last year. Coming into this season, he'll have 385 total plate appearances at the Double- and Triple-A levels; Fernando Tatis Jr. skipped Triple-A and debuted in the majors when he was 20 years old, and he had 459 plate appearances at Double-A.

To Adell's credit, he had performed better this spring. In 25 trips to the plate, he had batted .263/.440/.632 with two home runs and a stolen base. Adell had also walked six times, equaling his strikeout total.

With Adell saying hello from the other side, the Angels will deploy a most-days outfield featuring Mike Trout, Justin Upton, and winter acquisition Dexter Fowler. Jared Walsh, who homered nine times in 99 at-bats last season, ought to figure into the equation as well. Adell's demotion would seem to signal that non-roster invitee Juan Lagares is a decent bet to break camp with the club as a defensive-minded reserve.

Adell isn't the only talented young outfielder the Angels have farmed out recently, as they sent down Brandon Marsh last week. Marsh has been limited defensively this spring after suffering a labrum injury in 2020. He should debut this summer.