The Kansas City Royals have acquired Josh Willingham from the Minnesota Twins to bolster their big league lineup, and the Twins get another arm to add to their system in Jason Adam.
Trevor May just recently debuted for the Twins, and many feel Alex Meyer will be up sooner than later, while the rotation already has a trio of talented pitchers in their late 20’s in Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson, and trade deadline addition Tommy Milone.
Adam has a four pitch mix, which is highlighted by his big fastball. He struggled in Double-A this season, putting up an ERA of 5.03, but in eight relief outings in the Pacific Coast League, he has an ERA of just 2.35.
Adam has never put up the eye popping numbers, but he has a prototypical body and repertoire to be a back-of-the-rotation starter. His only nine relief appearances as a pro have come this season, and he has put up better numbers in those games, but a starting role is still a real possibility.
Adam is probably somewhere between the sixth and ninth best pitching prospect in the Twins system and fill find himself just outside most top ten lists for the system. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a solid future ahead of him, as I feel he can be an average starter as early as next year, and may even get a brief look in the bullpen late this year.
It was not a huge haul for the Twins, but getting a prospect of some value for a guy that is a free agent after this season is certainly a win for the team that is out of the race this season but has a lot of excellent talent ready entering the high minors and big leagues.