Lane Adams
Lane Weston Adams (born November 13, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2014, and has also played for the Atlanta Braves.
Lane Adams | |||
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Adams with the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2013 | |||
Free agent | |||
Outfielder | |||
Born: Talihina, Oklahoma | November 13, 1989|||
| |||
MLB debut | |||
September 1, 2014, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
MLB statistics (through 2018 season) | |||
Batting average | .263 | ||
Home runs | 7 | ||
Runs batted in | 26 | ||
Teams | |||
Early life
Adams is a Red Oak, Oklahoma (population 549) native.[1] He is part Native American and a member of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. His mother is Shelley Free, and his older brother is Chance Adams.
He attended Red Oak High School in Red Oak.[1] Playing guard for the school's basketball team, he scored 3,251 points, making him the fifth-highest scorer in Oklahoma high school basketball history.[2][3] His 93.7% free throw percentage as a junior led all of Oklahoma.[4] He committed to attend Missouri State University on a basketball scholarship.[5]
Career
Kansas City Royals
The Royals selected Adams in the 13th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, and he signed with the Royals for a $225,000 signing bonus rather than attend college.[6][7]
Adams was a 2012 Midwest League Mid-Season All Star.[8] He played for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Class AA Texas League in 2013.[9] He was a 2013 MiLB Royals Organization All Star, and was named Royals’ 2013 co-Minor League Player of the Year with pitcher Yordano Ventura.[8][10] After the 2013 season, the Royals added Adams to their 40-man roster.[11]
In 2014, playing for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals he batted .269/.352/.427 with 65 runs (tied for 6th in the league), 25 doubles (tied for 5th), 38 stolen bases (3rd) while being caught 6 times, and 9 hit by pitch (tied for 6th) in 524 at bats.[12] Adams was a Mid-Season Texas League All Star and Post-Season All Star.[8] On September 1, 2014, the Royals promoted Adams to the major leagues.[13] He made his Major League debut that night, replacing Raúl Ibañez as a pinch runner in the eighth inning of the Royals' game against the Texas Rangers.[14][15]
In 2015, again playing for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Adams batted .298/.360/.466 with 29 stolen bases (tied for 4th in the league) while being caught 6 times in 373 at bats.[12] He was released in November 2015.[16]
New York Yankees
After the 2015 season, the New York Yankees claimed Adams off of waivers.[17] In 2016 for the Trenton Thunder he batted .253/.343/.363 with 31 stolen bases in 36 attempts in 289 at bats.[12] On July 28, 2016, he was released by the Yankees.[18] He contemplated retiring at 26 years of age.[19]
Chicago Cubs
On August 3, 2016, Adams signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs.[20][21] Playing for the Tennessee Smokies, he batted .325/.378/.506 with 9 stolen bases without being caught, in 83 at bats.[12] He became a free agent on November 7.[18]
Atlanta Braves
Adams signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves organization on December 13, 2016.[22] Braves manager Brian Snitker said: “I didn’t know who he was. I’d never heard of him.”[19] With the Gwinnett Stripers in 2017, he batted .264/.320/.461 with 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts, in 178 at bats.[12]
The Braves promoted him to the Major Leagues on April 25, 2017.[23] Adams recorded his first major league hit in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers four days later.[24] Adams hit his first major league home run, a three-run shot, against the San Francisco Giants on June 22.[25] On September 10, Adams hit a 2-run, walk off home run against the Miami Marlins in the 11th inning.[26] The home run clinched the NL East for the Washington Nationals. For the 2017 season with the Braves, he batted .275/.339/.468, and was successful in all 10 of his stolen base attempts, in 109 at bats.[12]
On April 19, 2018, Adams was designated for assignment by the Braves.[27] He refused an assignment to the Gwinnett Stripers and elected free agency on April 27.[28]
Second stint with Cubs
On May 5, 2018, Adams signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs.[29] On June 30 he was released by the Cubs.[18]
Second stint with Braves
On July 16, 2018, Adams signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. He was called up to the major leagues on September 1. With the Braves in 2018, he batted .240/.345/.520 with one steal in 25 at bats.[12] The Braves outrighted him to the minors on October 31.[30] He elected free agency on November 2.[18]
Through 2018, in his major league career Adams had batted .263/.333/.467 with 11 stolen bases without being caught, in 137 at bats. In his minor league career he had batted .264/.338/.403 with 235 stolen bases while being caught 44 times, in 3,718 at bats.[12]
Philadelphia Phillies
On January 14, 2019, Adams signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.[31] He played for the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs, batting .255/.340/.465 with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs in 271 at bats, as he stole eight bases in ten attempts.[32] He was released on July 1, 2019.
Third Stint with Braves
On July 31, 2019, Adams signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. He played 18 games for the Class AA Mississippi Braves.[32] He became a free agent at the end of the season.
Minnesota Twins
On February 17, 2020, Adams signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.
References
- "MLB Rookie Profile: Lane Adams, OF, Atlanta Braves" - Minor League Ball
- Eskew, Alan (December 25, 2013). "Royals Add Upside To 40-Man Roster". Baseball America. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- O'Brien, David (September 16, 2017). "5 things you might not know about Braves rookie Lane Adams". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
- "Arizona Fall League profiles: Lane Adams and Malcom Culver"
- "St. Louis Cardinals". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- Eskew, Alan (May 24, 2013). "Royals' Lane Adams Coming Around". Baseball America. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- LEGENDS: Lane Adams - Red Oak grad working back toward majors | Sports | mcalesternews.com
- Lane Adams Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
- Grathoff, Pete (August 14, 2013). "Lane Adams has three homers, seven RBIs for Naturals". KansasCity.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- "Naturals' Adams Made Right Choice"
- "Royals add four to 40-man roster, drop three". MLB.com. November 20, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- 2014 "Texas League Batting Leaders" | Baseball-Reference.com
- "Royals to add three as September callups". MLB.com. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- O'Hanlon III, Adrian (July 6, 2015). "Lane Adams - Red Oak grad working back toward majors". McAlester News-Capital. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2016 – via Washington Times.
- Grathoff, Pete (September 2, 2014). "Lane Adams on his major-league debut: 'No words to describe the feeling'". Kansas City Star. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- "Tuesday's Sports Transactions". San Diego Union Tribune. Associated Press. November 3, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- Unruh, Jacob (January 15, 2016). "Former Red Oak star Lane Adams claimed on waivers by Yankees". The Oklahoman. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
- "Lane Adams Stats" | Baseball-Reference.com
- Rocke, Justin (August 29, 2018). "Lane Adams Named SL Player of the Week". MILB.com. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- Greene, Adam (August 28, 2016). "Tennessee Smokies outfielder Lane Adams received career advice from Cuonzo Martin". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- Todd, Jeff (December 14, 2016). "Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/16". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- O'Brien, David (April 26, 2017). "Braves bring Adams up from Triple-A, DFA d'Arnaud". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- Lewis, Barry (April 29, 2017). "Pro baseball: Red Oak's Lane Adams keys Braves' win with 1st MLB hit". Tulsa World. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- Bowman, Mark (June 23, 2017). "L. Adams on first MLB HR: 'A great feeling'". MLB.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- Bowman, Mark (September 10, 2017). "L. Adams goes from no invite to walk-off hero". MLB.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- Bowman, Mark (April 19, 2018). "Freeman in fine form night after HBP scare". MLB.com. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- O'Brien, David (April 27, 2018). "Lane Adams opts for free agency; Acuna call-up clogs outfield". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- Muskat, Carrie (May 5, 2018). "Cubs strike deal with outfielder Adams". MLB.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- "Braves Outright Lindgren, Ramirez, Adams, Tucker" - MLB Trade Rumors
- Adams, Steve (January 14, 2019). "Phillies Sign Lane Adams To Minor League Deal". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
- "Lane Adams Minor, Fall & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Lane Adams on Twitter