The win is seen by some as an outdated metric of success. But wins are Chance Adams' specialty.
Adams is at Triple-A Scranton, just one phone call away from filling the next hole in the New York Yankees' starting rotation. There, he continues to win. In fact, he almost never loses: In a little more than two years of pro ball, Adams is 23-3. His ERA is 1.96. And soon enough, the Yankees will see whether he can win on baseball’s biggest stage.
On Wednesday, Adams fired six scoreless innings of one-hit ball for the RailRiders. He struck out 12 and walked just one. “He has figured out how to win games,” Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. “He figures out during the course of a game what is working and what is not. He is able to go through lineups."
Adams, 22, is a 6-foot-1, 210-pound right-hander from Scottsdale, Arizona, whom the Yankees took in the fifth round of the 2014 draft and who is shooting through their system. If the Yankees stay in contention into late July, they might make a big-time trade for a starter, but if they look internally, Adams could be the guy.
“He is just a big leaguer in the making,” said Bobby Mitchell, who managed Adams at Double-A Trenton.
Adams has all the requisite pitches -- fastball, slider, change and curveball -- though, like all minor leaguers, he's still refining them. He can touch 96 or 97 mph but usually sits a little lower. But whether or not he has his best stuff, he usually ends up with a win.
“I try to be a pitcher rather than a thrower,” Adams said.
Growing up, Adams was shuttled between the homes of his mom, Ash Adams, and his dad, Brandon Short. His parents were never married, and Chance took his mom’s last name. As a kid, he was a standout ballplayer, though, he said, not much of a student. During his sophomore year at Scottsdale's Chaparral High School, he looked headed for big things but broke his thumb skateboarding. His coach, Jerry Dawson, brought him into his office and asked him, “Why would you do something as stupid as longboarding with your friends? You have a career ahead of you."
Despite helping his team win two state championships, Adams didn't get much of a look out of high school. When Dawson, who'd become a mentor, got a job as the pitching coach at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona, Adams followed him there, before moving on to Dallas Baptist -- where Yankees scout Mike Leuzinger saw his potential.
“I was kind of surprised that I went as high as I did,” Adams said of being a fifth-round draft pick. “I didn’t really get a lot of looks or attention. I just kind of went out and tried to do my business. I remember when Mike Leuzinger, the scout guy for the Yankees, found me. I just remember him telling me, 'We are going to take you, so sit tight.' He ended up calling and I was real excited.”
Even if the Yankees fall out of the playoff picture, they're apt to need a starter at some point this summer, whether it's because of injury or ineffectiveness. For Adams, that could mean a call to the Bronx.
“It would definitely be a dream come true,” Adams said. “It has been my goal since I was little. If it happens, I will go out and try and help the team win.”
It's his specialty after all.