There isn’t much doubt that the White Sox’s Luis Robert and the Angels’ Jo Adell are the two best outfield prospects in baseball. The prospect gurus at Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs all rank the two that way, and they also place them among the top farmhands in baseball no matter the position. Robert (No. 2 overall at BA, No. 3 at MLB.com and No. 7 at FanGraphs) holds a small edge over Adell (No. 3 at BA, No. 6 at MLB.com and No. 4 at FanGraphs) at two of the three outlets, but they’re lumped so close together that the difference is negligible.
The Cuba-born Robert has already landed a pair of lucrative contracts during his time in professional baseball. Now 22 years old, Robert joined the White Sox in 2017 for a $26MM signing bonus. Robert has since destroyed minor league pitching, including during a 2019 campaign in which he earned his first promotion to Triple-A ball. He batted .297/.341/.634 (136 wRC+) with 16 home runs in 223 plate appearances at that level, though his strikeout and walk rates were below average (24.7% K, 4.9% BB). Robert’s production was enough to convince the White Sox to make yet another sizable investment in him. This past January, they inked Robert to a six-year, $50MM guarantee – a record for a player with no major league service time (the move has gone over quite well). The deal paved the way for Robert to begin as the White Sox’s center fielder in 2020, if a season actually happens.
Adell, meanwhile, probably won’t open 2020 on the Angels’ roster, but it might not be long before he forces his way up and takes the reins in right field. He may be able to play all three outfield spots, but the team already has Justin Upton in left and pretty good player named Mike Trout in center. Before Adell gets to Anaheim, the soon-to-be 21-year-old – who became an Angel when they chose him 10th overall in 2017 – will likely have to improve his production in Triple-A. Adell had little to no success there last season, hitting .264/.321/.355 (67 wRC+) with no homers, a 32.6 percent strikeout rate and a 7.6 walk rate over 132 PA, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he has been extraordinarily productive in the minors. It was only a year ago, for instance, that Adell returned from early season hamstring and ankle injuries to bat .308/.390/.553 (173 wRC+) across 182 PA in Double-A, thereby earning a promotion.
Baseball America regards both Robert and Adell as potential franchise players in the making. Robert obviously has the Triple-A track record on his side, but that doesn’t mean he’ll end up as the more valuable major leaguer. If we’re to believe prospect experts, you really can’t lose between the two of them, but which one would you rather bet on going forward?
(Poll link for app users)
DJ Dozier VS David Nied
Dude, that’s cold
Jo Adell did hit a couple of homers in Triple-A but the game got canceled due to rain
I honestly don’t know enough about Robert to make an informed decision here. I will say that Jo Adell has the makings of a star if he can control his K’s, which he seemed to do in the AFL.
His defense is top notch. He gets good reads, gets to his spot early, covers a lot of ground, and has a nice arm.
Off the field, he’s great as well. He signs for kid after kid, asking each kid their name, saying hi and personalizing the ball. He already does charity work and has the look of a lot of kids future favorite player.
I honestly hope both these young guys succeed, but that’s my 2 cents on Adell who I’ve seen and met.
YouTube him.
Robert has a much higher ceiling, but also a lower floor, given his strikeout and injury issues.
Adell is probably safer, but Robert is a Hall of Famer if he maxes out.
I’d actually say Robert has a higher ceiling and a higher floor since he, at worst, will give you value in CF as a defender, where as Adell seems destined for LF due to a fringe arm and a bigger frame.
Adell’s arm is not fringe and the only reason he won’t play CF is because of Trout
More of a RF.
Has an arm.
Adell has pop. The question becomes his ability to control the plate at a major league level.
35+ Home Run potential who can hit in the middle of the lineup.
Ideally you put between Trout and Rendon.
wow I’m surprised to read this. I went to spring training this year and both days I saw him he wouldn’t even touch a ball or hat etc to sign, wouldn’t even acknowledge the kids . also saw a teammate ask him to grab him a ball that was at his feet and he just said, “no” and walkd away . made me really dislike him. he also struck out 5 of 6 at bats I saw in a inter squad game
He signed for my nephew last year and all the kids that I saw around him.
I do know MLB advised players against signing this year. I saw very few autographs when I went the first week of March.
He might have controlled his K number in the AFL, but he struck out a TON in spring training
I’ll go with Robert. Im assuming is a player in the Mookie Betts mold
Nooooo. Robert’s is more in the Andrew Jones mold with that being his peak. Great defense, power, but questions about contact. If he can cut down on the swing and misses, he is a 5-7 war player. If he doesn’t, he could look a lot like Lewis Brinson.
Enough with the strikeout junk. He hasn’t really had big league at-bats yet.
It’s not junk. He stuck out just under 25 percent of the time in AAA, with a 5 percent walk rate. He is a free swinger.
Common sense suggests those numbers will get worse against major league pitching, and he will never reach his potential if he doesn’t improve his contact and walk rates.
“he will never reach his potential if he doesn’t improve his contact and walk rates”
And that’s what players with his talent do.
It is junk.
From all accounts, Robert dominated minor league pitchers at every level, which is studs are supposed to. His AAA stats aren’t relevant. He hasn’t been tested by big league pitching yet. We’ll have to see how Robert adjusts to pitching in the majors before we can profile him accurately.
You can’t profile a (Chicago White Sox) prospect negatively until he’s in the majors!
Come on guys, don’t you know this?? You can’t say negative things about any future southsider until he’s up in the bigs. Throw that scouting report out of the window!
People like you are the reason they have to put instructions on a bottle of shampoo.
To this point Robert has shown a better hit tool with better BA, OBP, SLG, HR and SB numbers. He is also faster and skinnier, which makes me believe he can realistically stay in CF, while Adell definitely has a corner OF build. I have to vote for Roberts at this point, but realistically I would love for my team to have either one.
He is two years older.
Where was Robert at 20 years old?
To make the comparsion you have to judge age and not in the current.
At 20 Robert’s highest level was A+ where his OPS was 625
Entire season was 694
At 20 Adell’s highest peak was AAA and his OPS was 676
His entire season at 20 was 834 at higher levels.
His A+ OPS was 893
At 20, Robert dealt with a thumb injury all year that severely limited his ability to swing a bat. His stat line did not come even close to reflecting his talent.
At 19, he demolished the DSL. At 21, he demolished everywhere. His age 20 season is clearly an outlier.
Except Adell’s numbers have been better while still younger. Your excuse does not hold water.
keep in mind adell’s ankle was injured while in aaa.
Are you referring to when he injured it during spring training last year or did he re-injure it after being promoted to triple a?
as an angel fan.. I’ve never seen a more over hyped prospect since Wood… Adell will not hit over 250 once in his career in the ML
#HotTake
Not once? Not even luck his way to a .251? Harsh take
Hank Conger ring a bell. Now granted Wood was a bust, but he wasn’t a first round pick either. Conger was so highly regarded, the Angels felt comfortable trading Napoli. Conger was supposed to be a better defensive catcher and a better hitter than Napoli. Conger wouldn’t even be able to throw out Pujols trying to steal second.
I think Robert is the better prospect. I think they both will be really good ML players but I think Robert’s ceiling is that of an MVP candidate whereas Adell’s is more of like a potential AS but probably not quite ever being in the MVP conversation. I’m not saying Robert will win an MVP (also not saying he won’t) but I just think he has the potential to be in future MVP conversations where I think Adell could be an all-star during his peak but probably won’t ever be one of the top 5 hitters in the game. Obviously Robert has a ways to go to ever get into that conversation as well. But I think he has the raw tools to one day be there whereas Adell doesn’t quite have as high a ceiling.
Both may be good prospects, but that doesn’t always equate to a star in MLB. There’s no way to know until we see them succeed or fail. I hope they both do great.
Do Dylan Carlson v Alex Kirilloff next
push
It’s disingenuous to say Adell had no home runs in AAA. He had 2 in 2 AB and the game was rained out. You guys are letter than this.
Except those don’t count… There’s nothing to debate here. He had 0 AAA home runs. That’s a fact. There is not a stat line anywhere that suggests otherwise.
Yet you used a thumb excuse for poor numbers in a previous comment. Lightweight, if you are going to run the stats argument then stop making excuses. Geez, you must be fun at parties.
But he did hit them off of AAA pitching. Might not be in the official books, but they did happen. It wasn’t in intrasquad game on the backfields in AZ, it was a real game that was rained out and never made up. If they would have played 5 more outs that game those HR are now all of the sudden more legit than before? No. They happened and scouts/analysts should note them, not pretend like it never happened.
Do your research and find out how many 20 year olds dominate AAA.
Find out how many 20 years olds are even playing Triple A baseball.
I don’t make anything of Adell having some issues.
This debate is a joke. Roberts is the next Willie Mays. Adell is no where close. Period.
“Robert has generational talent.”. “His potential is limitless”. That is what EVERYONE who has watched this kid play says. My Robert comparison is Ken Griffey, Jr.
I agree.
I disagree.
He doesn’t remotely have the hit tool or plate discipline of Ken Griffey Jr., and you won’t find a reputable scout who would make such a comparison.
I’m a huge White Sox fan and that’s a *BIG* leap. He may have an absolute ceiling of that, but very, very few guys reach their full potential. If I had to guess, he’s a more free-swinging, poor-man’s Acuna, which is still a really good player.
Again, we don’t know his profile yet. Pitchers facing Robert in the minors were so overmatched that there wasn’t a pitch he couldn’t hit. Watch video of his at bats. His hands, bat speed and strength are amazing. He may have to be more selective in the bigs, he may not. We simply don’t know yet.
I hope we get to see baseball before Robert turns 23.
I’d go with Robert, though I think he might struggle more at first. There are definitely holes in his swing, but he’s shown the ability to adjust so I don’t think those problems will all still be there in a couple years. Both have high floors, but Robert’s potential is a little higher.
Kentucky hasn’t exactly been a hotbed of MLB stars, so I’ll have to see Adell long term to believe he’s the real deal.