Yesterday, I got to talk with one of the newest Washington Nationals prospects, right-handed pitcher Austin Adams
Last weekend, the Washington Nationals acquired a pair of right-handed pitching prospects from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for infielder Danny Espinosa. One of those prospects was reliever Austin Adams, who joins the Nats 40-man roster.
Adams was drafted in the eighth round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of the University of South Florida. In his junior year with the Bulls, he appeared in 18 games and had a 1.95 ERA. He struck out 34 batters and walked ten in 27.2 innings.
Back in 2014, when Adams was with the high-A Inland Empire 66ers, he was one of the team’s representatives in the California-Carolina League All-Star Game. He had 80 strikeouts that season, which were the third most on the team. Inland went to the semifinals that year before losing to the Lancaster Jethawks (Houston Astros).
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This past season, the 25-year-old appeared in 32 games for double-A Arkansas (two games in Salt Lake City). During his season with the Travelers, he went 0-1 with a 3.05 ERA while striking out 61 batters over 32 games (41.1 innings). His 61 K’s were the second most among all Travelers relievers (D.J. Johnson had 67).
In the second half of 2016, Adams had a strong finish to his season. Over his last 11 appearances, he had a 0.77 ERA, had three saves, struck out 19 batters to only four walks, and opponents were hitting .103 against him.
Yesterday afternoon, I had the privilege to talk with Adams about his reaction when he heard about being traded, who were some of his favorite pitchers growing up, his pitch arsenal, and you will hear about some of the toughest hitters he has faced during his college and professional career.
One relief outing you will hear him talk about more in particular during this interview was his second outing in double-A back in May 2015. During that game, Adams struck out six batters he faced and threw 19 strikes out of 27 pitches. Plus, he got some advice in that game from a reliever who is also with the Washington Nationals organization.
You will find the audio to our entire interview below and all of us at District On Deck thank Adams for taking the time for this interview:
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