Meet a Prospect: Lane Adams

The New York Yankees have some flexibility for maneuverability after reshaping their 40 man roster this winter and it seems that anyone that becomes available with any sort of upside may be destined to wear pinstripes. We’ve seen it many times this winter with the signings of Anthony Swarzak and Vinnie Pestano and we’ve seen the trades for Tyler Olson and Ronald Torreyes but one of these men are already no longer on the team's 40 man roster. Torreyes was designated for assignment and traded to the New York Yankees just last week and already he has been designated for assignment again, this time to make room for the newest Yankee to grace the 40 man roster, Lane Adams. Adams is now a former member of the Kansas City Royals.

This is Meet a Prospect: The Lane Adams Edition. Lane Weston Adams was born on November 13, 1989 in Oklahoma where he attended Red Oak High School. Playing for the school’s basketball team Adams scored a whopping 3,251 points which was good for the fifth-highest scoring total in the school’s basketball history. This caught the attention of Missouri State University who offered him a basketball scholarship but the Kansas City Royals took a chance and drafted him anyway in the 13^th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First year Players Draft. The rest, as they say, is history. Adams signed with Kansas City opting not to go to college and immediately begin his professional career in baseball, not basketball.

Adams spent the 2009-2013 seasons in the Royals minor league system until the team came calling on September 1, 2014 calling him up to the Major Leagues for the first time. Adams made his MLB debut that night replacing Raul Ibanez as a pinch runner in the 8^th inning against the Texas Rangers. Adams was back in the minor leagues for the entire 2015 season before being designated for assignment this winter by Kansas City. The Yankees made a waiver claim on Adams and was awarded the designated hitter leading the team to designated Torreyes for assignment.

Adams is listed as an outfielder on Baseball Reference but is more thought of as a DH in many prospect circles. Adams is a big guy, he’s 6’4” and listed at 190 lbs. on Baseball Reference and is an imposing right-handed bat in the batter’s box. I cannot lie I’m a bit excited about adding his big build and big bat to the team. Welcome to the organization Lane and more importantly, welcome to the family.