At the price of their previous first-round picks, the Angels are overhauling their 40-man roster this summer. Jordyn Adams followed Matt Thaiss as the first former first round player to be purged from the 40-man. Adams has signed with the Baltimore Orioles, while Thaiss has made his way to the Chicago White Sox. He received an invitation to major league camp along with a minor league contract. He will almost certainly start for the O’s in AAA Norfolk this season.
With Baltimore, Adams will try to hone his skills in a capacity akin to Christian Pache. To help them become the best versions of themselves, the Orioles have a tendency to sign young, projectable, extremely athletic, and toolsy outfielders. Adams will be their most recent endeavour. He can make highlight catches, has demonstrated high exit velocities at the plate, and has a sprint speed in the 98th percentile. There has never been any question about his strength and outfield ability. Playing at AAA Salt Lake the previous season may have inflated his minor league numbers, but his bat has potential.
Adams plays baseball like a football player, thus his mentality needs to be adjusted on the pitch. Because he is overthinking, he frequently flat out sails them or makes bone-headed throws back into the infield. He must also learn how pitchers approach him while he is at the plate. Adams is slashing.176/.205/.216/.421 in a small sample size of 78 MLB plate appearances over the past two seasons. If he wants to reach his full potential in the major leagues, the Orioles need to pull him in. It’s not because he lacks physicality.
Adams was DFA’d a month ago, alongside Eric Wagaman, to make room for Matthew Lugo and Jack Dashwood. The Angels shockingly kept Gustavo Campero over him, and Campero has persisted despite myriad DFA opportunities. Campero is clearly an organizational favorite if the Angels kept him over a project like Adams. Adams is still just 25-years-old and easily has a higher ceiling than Campero and Dashwood. The Angels must think he will not click, as he could definitely blossom elsewhere. In this sport, you bet on talent. Adams has that in spades. The change of scenery could fully unlock him, and Angels fans could subsequently be kicking themselves a few months/years from now.
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