The Los Angeles Angels haven’t had very many consistent offensive performers during the 2024 season. Heavily reliant on young talent, L.A. has had to sit idly by while cold spells and slumps happen regularly. This is especially true for outfielders Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak. They both have had extended slumps but also moments that show intriguing potential.
But on Saturday night against the Seattle Mariners, the two young outfielders did all of the heavy lifting with the bats. Adell began the night with two solo home runs that tied the game in the third inning and cut a three-run deficit to two in the sixth. Moniak then took over, hitting a game-tying two-run homer in the seventh and a walk=off solo shot in the ninth.
It was the first walk-off hit for Moniak and signaled a strong end to the month of August after some extended difficulties. Moniak spoke about Adell’s contributions and what the outing meant for the two of them and the whole team, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“It was huge,” Moniak said. “Jo hit the two homers to put us on the board and it was cool to be able to get it done on the back end. It’s a big win for the boys because we’ve been grinding a bit late. But we’ve got a month left and we’re going to do our best to lock in.”
The two-homer day was equally big for Adell, as it gave him his first 20-homer season in what he considers his first real full-length campaign.
“Coming into the season, [20 homers] was a soft goal,” Adell said. “The more I continue to pick the right pitches out, good things happen. So it’s a pretty special number for me in my first full season.”
The Angels have had some uncertainty around both Adell and Moniak over the last extended period of time. But both have proven themselves to be, at times, really quality players. They have shown they can contribute on a large scale and be relied-upon players both with their bat and glove.
Caden Dana starting for Angels on Sunday
The Angels have No. 1 prospect — MLB Pipeline No. 74 — Caden Dana on the mound Sunday against the Mariners in one of the more highly anticipated Angels pitching debuts of recent history. Dana is expected to, at some point, be a cornerstone of the future rotation and that begins with a spot start on Sunday.