With their 6th Round pick (181st overall) the Astros selected 6'3" 240lb (some say 6'2" 250lbs) first baseman Jake Adams, a junior out of the University of Iowa (moment of silence for Bo Porter).
Adams is a power-hitting 1B with questionable defense. He hit an NCAA-leading 29 home runs in 61 games to become the B1G Ten (did I do that right?) conference player of the year. This season he hit .335/.417/.747, 57K:29BB in 245 ABs.
Jim Callis:
This guy swings for the fences. When he connects, it goes a long way. There are going to be some questions. It's a long swing - how's that going to play when you're seeing 95mph when you get to the upper level of the minors? - and it's a bat-only guy. You'll try to play him at first - there's no real alternative - might be more of a DH.
Adams also was 3rd in the NCAA in total bases (183), 4th in SLG (.747), and 7th in RBIs (72). He led the B1G Ten in HR, RBI, SLG, Runs, and Total Bases. He had 27 multi-hit games in 2017. The 29 home runs are a B1G Ten record.
He's Iowa's highest-drafted player since 1999 (Wes Obermueller, 2nd Round). Adams told Mark Berman:
If you want to come out and see a home run, I'm the guy you want to come watch. Just excited to get in that organization and give Houston fans something to look forward to.
I love him already.
The slot for the 181st overall pick is $249,600.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
