Minor League Notes, August 29, 2011

by John Sickels on Aug 29, 2025 1:01 PM EDT

Minor League Notes, August 29, 2025

**I'm getting a lot of questions lately asking for my take on St. Louis Cardinals first base prospect Matt Adams, currently hitting .313/.371/.589 with 31 homers, 40 walks, and 85 strikeouts in 435 at-bats for Double-A Springfield. Is this for real?

Adams was a 23^rd round pick in 2009 from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. He was outstanding in college, hitting .495/.556/.853 with 14 homers, 31 walks and just 17 strikeouts in 184 at-bats that year. But it was Division II competition and he has a bad body, so scouts were skeptical.

He hit .355/.400/.547 in his pro debut in the Appy and NY-P Leagues, then hit .310/.355/.541 in the Midwest League last year. As noted above, his performance in Double-A remains terrific. He's hitting at home and on the road, and his platoon split isn't severe (.985 OPS vs RHP, .910 OPS vs LHP).

He turns 23 on Wednesday and has a stocky 6-3, 230 pound build. Despite his lack of classic tools and mediocre defense at first base, it is hard to argue with the bat. His bat speed is impressive and his power is real, and while I would like to see more walks out of him, his strikeout rate is quite low for a player with firepower of this magnitude, a good sign for the future. I gave him a Grade C in the 2011 book, but that's at least a B- now and a straight B and a spot in the Top 50 Hitting list is possible later this fall.

**Another pre-season Grade C with a rising grade is San Diego Padres outfield prospect Rymer Liriano, hitting .319/.380/.499 with 27 doubles, 11 homers, 42 walks, 82 strikeouts, and 62 steals in 80 attempts (423 at-bats) for Fort Wayne in the Low-A Midwest League. The 20-year-old Dominican outfielder was signed for $350,000 in 2007. Very toolsy, he struggled to hit before this year (and indeed he hit just .127 in 15 games when he began this year in High-A) but has been on fire lately, hitting .329/.383/.506 with 31 steals in his last 58 games.

Liriano has improved his ability to handle breaking balls this year, and Midwest League sources are impressed with better polish in most aspects of his game this year, driving the ball for more power and sharpening his baserunning. He has a right field arm but is still working on reading the ball and avoiding mistakes and errors. All-told, I am pleased with his progress and he's moving into the B-range along with Adams, albeit for different reasons.

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Comments

I often attend games at the Astros’ Double A affiliate in the Texas League, so I’ve had a lot of chances to see Adams play. This guy’s power is legit, and its a shame he isn’t getting more props as a prospect.

The bird is struggling out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born, must first destroy a world.

by Stupendous Man on Aug 29, 2025 1:51 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

His power is legit but his batting eye sucks

He chases more pitches in the dirt than I think I’ve ever seen a hitter at this level chase. He makes up his mind to swing before the pitch a lot, especially in hitters counts. When he sticks to a good approach, he can hit anything anywhere. I’ve seen him hit balls out oppo, I’ve seen him yank balls, and I’ve seen him stay back on offspeed and rope them up the middle…

He can hit. No questions asked. And if he fixes his approach….. ? But until then, he really struggles with off speed stuff.

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by 306008 on Aug 29, 2025 10:17 PM EDT up reply actions

?

? Better bat than Cox at Springfield?

by ByANose on Aug 29, 2025 3:11 PM EDT reply actions

Uh... define better?

He’s got more power. I’m not really sure they’re very comparable players since Adams will be a defensive liability, IMHO.

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by Dttl89 on Aug 29, 2025 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

Adams has more power. Cox has a good chance to be a more complete hitter in the average and OBP departments, and has more glove value.

by John Sickels on Aug 29, 2025 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks

Great thanks. I’m intrigued by this whole “bad body type” label ala Cox, Decker, Adams, Wallace, etc and how it translates toward major league success. It seems like some can get away over the label like Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, Sid Fernandez, CC Sabathia and Jonathon Broxton. If Cox>Adams and Cox was a B- in the 2011 prospect book, perhaps he is pushing a B+/A- in the 2012 edition.

by ByANose on Aug 29, 2025 9:01 PM EDT reply actions

Cox is probably a B/B+

I wouldn’t consider him bad bodied. Brett Wallace was bad bodied, but not Cox.

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by Dttl89 on Sep 2, 2025 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Cox is not a B+

I watched him all season and if it wasn’t for the draft location, I wouldn’t have known him from an organization guy. He just wasn’t impressive to me all year. I thought Matt Carpenter was better last year at AA.

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by 306008 on Sep 3, 2025 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions

It was his first full year in pro ball

Matt Carpenter is nearly 26 years old…Zack Cox 22…. I would assume that he looked better based on his minor league experience alone. Cox played 46 pro games before he was promoted to AA and put up an .800 ops with solid defense. I’d say, like I said earlier, he’s a B/B+.

Cox has

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by Dttl89 on Sep 6, 2025 4:53 AM EDT up reply actions