Tampa Bay Rays Scouting Report on SS Willy Adames
Scouting Report
Size/Build
Adames is listed at 6’1″ and 180 pounds, but I’d estimate that’s more like 195ish at this point. Adames has the build of the ideal guy that scouts would describe as a guy who will fill out too much to stay at shortstop.
He has a broad chest, which often portends adding natural muscle as physical maturity in early 20s sets in. He also has what is known as a “high butt”, which is just a description of where the muscle build of the upper legs sit on a player.
In other words, looking at Adames at just 21, you’d expect that by 25, he could fill out to more like 225 pounds fairly easily without adding “bad weight” just because of his body type. That does worry some scouts about his ability to stay at shortstop.
Hitting
Contact (55) – Adames is a guy who I think could be a guy to get better on the contact scale, but right now his swing has a lot of the characteristics that you find in guys like Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista.
That swing leads to some natural holes in the path of the swing, but it also leads to generating ideal plane on the ball when contact is made as he starts his bat path low and has a quick bat through the zone.
Power (60) – Adames’ bat path generates ideal contact for impact power, and as he’s grown into his body, he’s generated impressive batting practice sessions.
In 2016, he began to first generate that power into games, though he was also in a very pitching-friendly league in the Southern League, which stifled some of his home run output.
Adames has pure plus power, and his excellent instincts on the base paths should allow him to turn gap hits into extra bases frequently as well when the ball stays in the park.
Eye (60) – Many will be surprised to see a guy with a 20+ percent strikeout rate given a plus eye grade, but more of what those strikeouts are come from Adames’ approach in his swing, not his inability to recognize strikes or pitches.
I will note that Adames has consistently been a guy with double-digit walk rates. He’s shown that he does very well recognizing the strike zone and laying off pitches outside of that zone over his minor league career.
Base Running/Fielding
Speed (50) – Adames is really not a guy you will see ever steal a ton of bases due to a lack of first-step quickness, but once underway, he’s an above-average runner.
What I was impressed with in viewing Adames is his instincts and intelligence on the basepaths, especially between bases. This is why Adames has consistently had solid triples numbers, even with less than plus raw speed.
Defense (55) – Adames has soft hands and good actions on the ball as he fields it, but his biggest question in staying at short (outside of whether he would grow too big to stay at the position) was his footwork.
He’s still got work to do in making natural movements on balls, especially to his right, but his footwork once in motion is incredibly improved in the last year, such that I’m comfortable saying he could stay at the position long-term if that was the Rays’ choice.
I’m not sure that he will ever be a plus defender at short, but the work Adames has put in on his footwork is notable.
Arm (60) – I noted a report this winter that had Adames’ arm at a straight 50, and I’m just not sure how that grade fits. His raw arm strength is certainly plus, if not even a hair above.
Where I noted issues for Adames was in his accuracy and footwork in his throws from short, especially after a long move. He would frequently have his shoulders out of position as he released the ball, hurting his accuracy and the perceived power on the throw, and much of that can be traced back to his footwork to that position.
In going back to 2015 video, the issue was still there, but MUCH more prevalent, so it is obvious that he has worked hard in that aspect of his game at shortstop, which tells me it is something he could make further strides in if allowed to stay at short.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
MLB Player Comp
The guy that immediately stuck out when watching Adames physically was Anthony Rendon. Then I took a look at their offensive profiles, and Rendon is actually a very legit profile of what Adames could become on the offensive side of things as well.
Rendon has shown himself quite capable in the middle infield, but he was an elite third baseman coming out of Rice when he was drafted, so he’s found his way back to his natural position on the left side of the infield.
I think Adames will profile on the left side as well, whether the Rays choose to work with his defense at short and float him between short and third or purely at short.
However, a profile like Rendon’s where his 162-game averages over his career thus far have been 18 home runs and 10 stolen bases with 39 doubles while slashing .274/.345/.433 with around a 9 percent walk rate and 17 percent strikeout rate.
They’re also physically similar with Rendon listed at 6′, 190 pounds and Adames listed at 6’1″ and 180 pounds. Looking at them both, they’re likely both right around 195-200 in weight with similar builds.
Next: Austin Meadows Scouting Report
Adames will likely open 2017 in AAA as the Tampa Bay Rays allow their players to advance one level at a time, but if he plays well, he could find himself making a case for a role with no real secure player blocking him up the middle in the majors.
Adames’ hard work that he put in on the defensive side of the ball from 2015 to 2016 is quite impressive, and while he has the ideal “broad chest, high butt” that would lead to thinking he’ll fill out quite a bit more, I think he could still add some weight while remaining quality at shortstop with the work he’s putting in to keep up his defensive chops.