To hear scouts tell it, Jordyn Adams was all raw potential, but then he set foot on the field and suddenly the numbers told a different story.
- Born: October 18, 1999
- B/T: Right/Right
- 6’2″, 180-lbs
- Drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 1st round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Green Hope HS (Cary, NC)
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
Jordyn was a two-sport star, and fairly often such guys tend to be full of raw potential at first, not on-field production. But Adams hit the ground running and put up two very similar seasons through three different levels.
He was expected to have raw power, and that’s the part that has lagged the rest so far. His speed is present, and his OBP is terrific. That’s because both his walk rate and strikeout rates are fine.
That’s the surprising part of his on-field performance: you’d expect a two-sport guy to have, say, some raw power, but strike out a lot, and not recognize pitches as well. Not Adams, he has that part set, and that will serve him well as he reaches the higher levels.
He hits righties better. As he reaches AA, let’s make sure hitting against lefties won’t hold him back.
There’s his pull power to left, but already a couple of opposite-field home runs are showing up, and the triples are more to right than to left, and his doubles are sprayed all over the field.
You can see where he was suddenly lighting up A-ball in mid-August, so they promoted him to A+ and he just kept getting better. Nice chart.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #141 on their Top 400.
- BaseballHQ: Not on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: #79 on their Top 120.
- Fantasy Six Pack: #385 on their dynasty list.
- Prospects365: #62 on Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #118 on the Top 487.
- Fantrax: #100 on the Top 250.
Warnings
Let’s see that raw power translate more into game power.
The strikeout rate could be better.
He hasn’t hit AA yet, so that will be his first big test.
Conclusion
He was always considered very athletic, so the only question is how quickly his baseball skills could develop. Seeing him with a good batting eye already is promising, and with his plus bat speed along with his good approach, the power should follow as he transitions into his early-20s.
Defensively he should be great, and his speed should be as fast as teams could use.
Look at that OPS chart again, and remember he did that as a 19-year-old, one of the youngest players on the field.
He’s one of the best prospects the Angels have, and the scouts think he’s almost ready to be a Top 100 star.