Tag: cooper adams

Red Sox to promote pitching prospect Cooper Adams to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox are promoting pitching prospect Cooper Adams from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, as was first reported by Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster.

Adams, who turned 25 last month, is not regarded among the top pitching prospects in Boston’s farm system but is nonetheless having an interesting year. The right-hander appeared in 21 games (made one start) for Greenville to begin his second season in the organization and posted a 3.95 ERA (2.99 FIP) with 55 strikeouts to 20 walks over 43 1/3 innings in which opponents batted .256 against him.

In his last 11 outings dating back to May 28, Adams has pitched to a 1.89 ERA (2.53 FIP) with 21 strikeouts to eight walks across 19 innings in which he has held opponents to a .219 average. Overall, right-handed hitters are batting .263 against him, while left-handed hitters are batting .250 against him.

Among 67 pitchers who have thrown at least 40 innings in the South Atlantic League this year, Adams most notably ranks fifth in swinging-strike rate (15.9 percent), 12th in FIP, 13th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.42), 15th in strikeout rate (29.3 percent), and 21st in xFIP (3.48), per FanGraphs.

After going undrafted out of Mount St. Mary’s University as a fifth-year senior in 2023, Adams worked to add velocity to his repertoire through strength training and mechanical changes at Tread Athletics in North Carolina. The Maryland native later threw for interested teams at the facility’s annual pro day weekend and ultimately signed with the Red Sox last February.

From there, Adams spent the entirety of his first professional season at Greenville, where he forged a 5.08 ERA (5.48 FIP) over 26 appearances (six starts) spanning 79 2/3 innings. He also pitched for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League to close out an eventful 2024, which he described to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith earlier this spring as “a big development year.”

“And I credit all the guys with the Red Sox,” said Adams, who shouted out then-development coach (and now Low-A Salem’s pitching coach) Alex Reynolds as well as longtime Greenville pitching coach Bob Kipper. “That led me to go to the offseason and go, ‘OK, I’m gonna work on getting my pitches more consistent, getting the shapes of my pitches consistent. And then being able to throw them in locations and throw strikes.”

Adams carried over that momentum from the offseason into Fort Myers and earned a spot on the Red Sox’ 2025 Spring Breakout roster. He retired two of the four batters he faced in the fourth inning of a 7-5 loss to the Rays at Charlotte Sports Park on March 13.

Standing at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Adams throws from a three-quarters arm slot and incorporates a medium leg kick into his delivery. The righty now sits 94-95 mph and can reach velocities north of 97 mph with his fastball. He has also featured a 92-94 mph sinker, an 86-91 mph cut-slider, an 83-85 mph curveball, and an 86-88 mph changeup, as noted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

With his promotion to Portland, Adams is slated to join a Sea Dogs bullpen that already includes the likes of Jeremy Wu-Yelland, Noah Song, Yovanny Cruz, and Jack Anderson, among others.

(Picture of Cooper Adams: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)

Red Sox sign Mount St. Mary’s righty Cooper Adams to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed undrafted free agent Cooper Adams out of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., per an announcement from the school.

Adams, a 23-year-old right-hander, was passed over in the 2023 amateur draft after going 8-3 and posting a 4.70 ERA with 73 strikeouts to 20 walks in 14 starts (82 1/3 innings) for the Mountaineers as a fifth-year senior last season.

Hailing from the Old Line State himself, Adams spent the first three years of his collegiate career at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and pitched to a 7.09 ERA with 28 strikeouts to 23 walks in 21 total appearances (eight starts) spanning 59 2/3 innings of work for the Retrievers. The Potomac native then transferred to Mount St. Mary’s in 2021 and led his team in both starts (11) and innings pitched (65 1/3 innings) the following spring.

Despite improving across the board in his final year of eligibility, Adams had to wait until just recently to enter the professional ranks. To that end, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound hurler threw at Tread Athletics’ annual pro day weekend in Charlotte, N.C. last month and apparently left a lasting impression on the scouts who were on hand.

“Adams got on the mound on Day 3 and showed up as a new pitcher, not the arm that was at Mount St. Mary’s last spring,” wrote Rylan Domingues, who has since joined the Phillies organization as a pitching development analyst. “He ran his fastball up to 96.8 MPH while averaging 95.1, higher than his previous best of 94.9. Along with that, he showcased a sinker, slider and a kick change, all new or much improved. He has totally reinvented himself post college and deserves a shot.”

That shot will evidently come with the Red Sox, who have worked to overhaul their pitching infrastructure under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow this winter. Since being hired in October, Breslow has made some notable additions to Boston’s pitching department, including Justin Willard (who previously worked for the Twins) as director of pitching and Kyle Boddy (who founded Driveline Baseball) as a special advisor.

It remains to be seen where Adams, who turns 24 in June, will make his professional debut this season. While Low-A Salem or maybe even High-A Greenville are the likely destinations, the Red Sox will presumably evaluate Adams throughout spring training before arriving at a decision.

(Picture of Cooper Adams: Mount St. Mary’s University Athletics)