2018 Rangers Draft preview: Jordyn Adams

2018 MLB Draft preview: Jordyn Adams scouting report.

With the 2018 MLB Draft just weeks away — the first round kicks off on June 4, 2018 — its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #15 and their second round pick is at #55 — they have no compensatory picks this year.

Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first two picks. Today, we are looking at North Carolina high school outfielder Jordyn Adams.

Jordyn Adams is a 6’2”, 180 lb. righthanded outfielder out of Cary, north Carolina. Like yesterday’s profilee, Kumar Rocker, Adams has football bloodlines -- his father is a football coach at the University of North Carolina. Adams is currently a UNC commit for both baseball and football, and as a four star recruit at wide receiver, he’s someone who has legitimate options with both sports.

As you would expect from a top high school wide receiver recruit, Adams is a terrific athlete, and is seen as a 70 or 80 runner on the baseball field. BA calls him an “80 grade athlete with impressive makeup,” and if there’s anything we know the Rangers like, it is athletes with great makeup. His arm isn’t great, and his defense needs work, but he’s also not been a full time baseball player, and those could end up developing with time. The big question, as with most of these toolsy athletes, is with the hit tool, and how much it will develop, although Adams also doesn’t have as much power potential as a lot of those who fit this profile do.

Baseball America currently has Adams at #45 on their top 500 draft prospect list, calling him a high-risk, high-reward player. MLB Pipeline has Adams ranked at #45 as well, while Keith Law has Adams ranked at #50. Fangraphs is the high guy on Adams right now, slotting him at #33.

The mock draft from Fangraphs that came out yesterday had Adams going to the Rangers at #15. Baseball America’s latest mock draft has Adams going to the Kansas City Royals at #18, as does Keith Law’s most recent mock. MLB Pipeline doesn’t have Adams going in the first round.

Aside from the generally high-risk profile and lack of baseball experience, the big question in regards to drafting Adams is his asking price. The consensus is that Adams is going to have bonus demands that are going to be steep, and he has the added leverage of going to college football route to factor in. While I can see the Rangers having interest in Adams, the question is going to be whether they are going to be willing to carve out enough of their pool to devote to him to make him worth selecting, particularly in the first round. Adams is someone the Rangers might pass on at #15, but grab if he’s there at #55, paying him first round money and viewing it as an opportunity to get two first round talents with their first two picks. Otherwise, he would seem to be targeted by a team with multiple early picks.

You can see video of Adams below: