Jo Adell's breakout should give Cardinals fans hope for this former top prospect

On Thursday night, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell hit his 30th home run of the year, the first time he's reached that milestone in his six-year major-league career.

Adell, a top-10 prospect in 2020, was once touted as a true five-tool player. With the potential for plus-plus power along with plus speed and a strong arm, Adell's future was bright as an everyday outfielder who could play center field if needed and hit in the middle of an order. The Los Angeles Angels' 2017 first-round pick was developing quite nicely at the time.

However, as is sometimes the case with prospects, Adell didn't live up to his hype. He slashed .161/.212/.266 in his rookie year in 2020 for an OPS+ of just 30. He struck out 41.7% of the time while not logging a single stolen base. HIs defense was also one of the worst among all outfielders that year.

From 2021 through 2024, Adell slashed .218/.276/.397 while hitting only 35 home runs and stealing 22 bases. He struck out 290 times in only 861 at bats, and he walked only 58 times. Adell struggled mightily in his first five professional seasons, and the allure of a former top prospect was starting to fade away as he entered his age-26 season in 2025.

Adell has flipped the script entirely this year.

Through 472 plate appearances (126 games), Adell is slashing .235/.298/.486 this year. His .251 ISO is the highest of his career, and he could easily hit 35 home runs if he remains healthy in September. Adell is certainly living up to his former billing at this point.

Strikeouts have been a struggle for the 26-year-old outfielder throughout his career, but he's managed to get his K rate down to just 25.8%, a career low. While he still isn't walking much (6.1%), him bringing down his strikeout rate and increasing his power is a positive sign.

Prospect development is rarely linear. Hitters often come up to the majors not quite ready for pitchers at the highest level; the gap between Triple-A and MLB has never been greater than it is right now. While some former top prospects, see Jarred Kelenic, never quite pan out, others simply take more time to find their stroke and get comfortable in the majors. Jo Adell and Spencer Torkelson — who has career highs in every major slash line category and has hit 28 home runs already — of the Detroit Tigers are two excellent examples of the value of patience with top prospects.

Jo Adell's and Spencer Torkelson's delayed growth proves that patience may be necessary for the St. Louis Cardinals with Jordan Walker.

Jordan Walker's best season came as a rookie when he slashed .276/.342/.445 with 16 home runs and seven stolen bases. Since then, he's struggled to generate power while watching his strikeout rate soar to 31.1% this year.

Suffice it to say, Jordan Walker has not lived up to his former billing as a top-five prospect in baseball.

This could be due to an early promotion in 2023 paired with a jockeying between levels in baseball. It could also be attributed to Walker being unwilling to make adjustments that his coaches have offered him. It could be a case of the wrong adjustments being recommended to him. Regardless, seeing Walker be a well-below-average hitter isn't reassuring for the Cardinals' future.

Is there hope in the patience that John Mozeliak has been preaching over the years? Jo Adell's and Spencer Torkelson's growth this year would lend credence to that belief.

It's taken both players several years to find their footing at the major-league level. While we as Cardinal fans have grown weary of the word "patience," it may still ring true for former top prospect Jordan Walker. He's recorded 312 plate appearances this year, a reasonable number to see what he can do.

However, it wasn't until 2024 that Jo Adell logged more than 285 plate appearances — he logged 451 PAs in 2024, and he's up to 472 PAs this year. It took Adell until his age-25 season to truly unlock what he was capable of. The same can be said of Torkelson, who just turned 25 in late August. If Walker can maintain health next year while also making the necessary adjustments, he could live up to his former billing.

2026 will likely be another year of development for several young players. Chaim Bloom must be willing to take it slow with several young players, primarily Jordan Walker. If Jo Adell and Spencer Torkelson are any indication of what time can do for a former top prospect, perhaps Cardinal fans should wait just a little longer before giving up on the 23-year-old.