TRENTON- Chance Adams has been dominant for the Thunder since he came from Tampa on June 14. The first-year starter, who had been a reliever at Dallas Baptist and early in his career in the Yankees organization, has taken to his new role very well. Coming into Sunday's double-header with Altoona, where Adams took the ball in the second game,...
TRENTON- Chance Adams has been dominant for the Thunder since he came from Tampa on June 14.
The first-year starter, who had been a reliever at Dallas Baptist and early in his career in the Yankees organization, has taken to his new role very well. Coming into Sunday's double-header with Altoona, where Adams took the ball in the second game, his numbers with Trenton are eye-popping. He is 7-0, with a 2.13 ERA with the Thunder, after his 5.1 innings of work in the 3-1 win over the Curve.
When you look at his numbers over the course of the season, Adams is 12-0, with an ERA sub 2.40. It has led some to say that Adams may be one of the most underrated prospects in all of baseball.
But with only a year of minor league experience, since he was taken in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB draft, Adams is still learning, and getting better, each day.
"This is really the first time I have been a pitcher, pitcher," Adams said. "In high school, I was a position player, and I would just come in and close. Then at Dallas Baptist, I was just a closer. So this is really my first year starting."
"There is a big difference between starting and relieving, but I have played baseball since I was four," Adams said. "I just have to thank the Yankees. They didn't just change me from a reliever and say. 'Go pitch.' They helped me a lot, and worked with me in spring training."
"They told me they were going to have me be a starter this year," Adams said. "They limited me, when I first started pitching, to just three innings. Then it went up to five. It gradually increased, so they primarily helped me with that. I am just thankful that everything stayed throughout the innings: the velocity, location, strength."
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Adams, whose fastball sits in the mid-90's and can top out higher, has some quality secondary stuff to compliment his heater. When he first came up from Tampa, the people at the top of the organization wanted him to work on his changeup.
"I liked him a lot," Bobby Mitchell said, after his win in June over Nationals prospect Lucas Giolito. "He throws hard, and the ball has late life. You can tell it gets on hitters in a hurry, and he uses it a lot. His secondary stuff is good too. I know that he is working on improving his changeup, and he threw some good ones."
But with six weeks of Double A under his belt, where the dominance has not missed a beat, he is now more comfortable with his four pitches.
"I am still kind of working on the changeup," Adams said. "That is kind of the pitch that I have been working on the most this year. But I am also learning how to pitch, what pitches to throw in what counts, and things like that. That is the biggest thing since I have gotten to Double A. It is what they really want me to work on here."
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With all the trades the Yankees have completed so far, and with more surely on the way before the MLB trade deadline 4 p.m Monday, the Thunder (68-40) roster may look very different Tuesday when they host Hartford in the first of three games.
It should bolster Trenton in its chase for a playoff berth, with so many prospects flooding into the system. After a four-game sweep of Altoona, this team may just be getting even better, which is a scary thought for the rest of the Eastern League.
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean