October 7th, 2010: A Quick Look at Matt Adams
Adams has shown, statistically, that he can hit. There are realistic reasons to be concerned about Adams, defensive ability and conditioning being foremost and interconnected in my opinion, but 2010 was an impressive full season effort from the 2009 draftee.
May 4th, 2011: Matt Adams – Sluggtastic
Adams is even hitting the ball better than last season in Quad Cities in which he had 40 doubles and 21 HRs. Going forward, Matt Adams is a first baseman or a DH that will find his way to the lineup because of his bat. It is encouraging that he skipped a level and continued his quality hitting.
May 10th, 2011: Average First Baseman
This post garnered 149 comments, which I believe to be the most of any post on Future Redbirds to date.
May 16th, 2011: Springfield Cardinals: May 7 & 8
The good news is that his swing is pretty great.
July 1st, 2011: Statistical Player Comp: Matt Adams
Matt Adams just continues to hit. And hit. And hit. That’s what he does. But he does so in a rather perplexing way. He doesn’t walk much (BB% < 8), swings at a ton of pitches but makes contact consistently (K% <= 20) and hits for immense power (ISO > .200). That’s an unusual skillset.
August 19th, 2011: Matt Adams sets Springfield HR Record
Matt Adams is unlikely to be the next Albert Pujols. Comparisons of that nature are markedly unfair to both players. Given his 2011 performance, however, Adams’ projection looks less like whether he’ll make the majors and more about just how good he can be in the majors.
April 30th, 2012: Whither the Walk
This is purely anecdotal in nature but these low walk, high contact, high average players do exist. Some of them are even very valuable. Ryan Braun is a lofty goal to compare any prospect too but someone like Pablo Sandoval shows how elite power can compensate for the lack of walks.
May 20th, 2012
Matt Adams goes 2-for-4 with a pair of singles as the Cardinals fall to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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In a power hitter, two things to note are how often he whiffs and batting average. Lots of Ks or a low average indicate holes ML pitchers can exploit. Adams has a line drive swing. He can use his strength to drive the ball and does not need to uppercut or have a long swing. If he does not walk a lot, this may reflect excellent hand-eye-coordination.
Congratulations to Matt!
here’s an updated study reviewing drafting strategies with regard to high school hitters/high school pitchers/college pitchers/college hitters.
http://puckettspond.com/2012/05/15/what-type-of-player-should-the-twins-draft/
very interesting work.
Best wishes to M. A.