Everyone knew Jake Adams would be drafted eventually, but everyone was waiting to see if it would be in the first 10 rounds. The wait is over: the Houston Astros picked the Iowa first baseman with the 181st pick (sixth round) in the draft to make him Iowa's highest pick since 1999. The slot value for Adams' pick is $249,000.
With the 181st pick overall in the sixth round the Houston Astros select junior slugger Jake Adams! #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/AqWqZpKVcg
— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) June 13, 2017
Assuming Adams signs, he will most likely start his minor league career with the Greenville Astros in Greenville, Tennessee. But the Astros will probably hope to have him start 2018 in single-A. In that case, Adams would be pretty close to Iowa City -- the Astros' single-A club is the Quad City River Bandits, in Davenport, Iowa.
While Adams is still far from reaching the majors, going to an American League team will help him reach that goal. His defense made many question whether he could move up the ranks as a first baseman. He obviously has a lot of power which is what DHs are known for. It would be really cool to see Adams, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve on one team, even if that's in the future.
Just a few minutes after Adams was selected, the Baltimore Orioles took Mason McCoy with the 188th pick (sixth round). Two Hawkeyes selected this high hasn't happened in a long time. McCoy's slot value is $235,700.
With Jake Adams & Mason McCoy both going in 6th rd, this is first time #Hawkeyes have had 2 single-digit rd picks in same year since 1992.
— Dargan Southard (@Dargan_Southard) June 13, 2017
McCoy, who went undrafted in 2016, will start with the Aberdeen IronBirds in Short-Season A since Baltimore doesn't have any Rookie League teams. In 2018, McCoy should get a chance with the Orioles' single-A club, the Delmarva Shorebirds, which is in Maryland.
Mason McCoy is a senior so he will sign with Baltimore, and Adams sounds like he's ready to start his professional career as well:
Jake Adams said he anticipates beginning career sometime this weekend. Will sign, fly down to Florida to Astros complex. #Hawkeyes
— Jeff Johnson (@jeje66) June 13, 2017
UPDATE: Adams was a little more measured in his comments to The Des Moines Register's Dargan Southard, but signing with Houston still seems like the most likely decision:
“Most likely I will sign,” Adams told Hawk Central. “But as of right now, we’re kind of just letting everything settle down a little bit.”
Good luck to both!
