His season went from March to November and included oblique and knee injuries.
The baseball-free portion of Matt Adams’ year lasted just two days — last Saturday and Sunday.
After successful stints in the Double-A Texas League and prospect-filled Arizona Fall League, Matt Adams returned to work earlier this week. The Philipsburg- Osceola graduate and St. Louis Cardinals farmhand avoids extended breaks because he will tote lofty ambitions into 2012, his fourth season as a professional.
“My goal is to make the big-league club out of spring training,” Adams said. “I’m going to shoot for that. If that doesn’t happen, then hopefully I get put on the (Triple-A) Memphis roster and go from there.”
If Adams’ 2012 matches his 2011, the big leagues might be within the first baseman’s sight.
The Cardinals deemed him ready to skip High-A Palm Beach and he rewarded the organization by posting massive Double-A numbers. He hit .300 with a team-high 32 homers and 101 RBIs in 115 Double-A games. A mid-season oblique injury was the only thing to slow Adams.
After the season, Adams received two prestigious honors: the 2011 Texas League Player of the Year award and a spot on the Arizona Fall League’s Peoria Javelinas. The AFL is regarded as Minor League Baseball’s top winter circuit, and this year’s attractions included No. 1 overall draft picks Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole and Tim Beckham.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting to jump High-A and go right to Double- A,” Adams said. “They believed in me and I didn’t want to let them down, and for them to send me off to Arizona, I didn’t want to let them down. I wanted to prove to them that I could play.”
Adams, a 2009 23rd-round draft pick out of Slippery Rock, solidified his prospect status by hitting .250 with a high-team four homers and 19 RBIs this fall.
Knee tendinitis forced him to miss the AFL’s final two weeks and the circuit’s Rising Stars game.
The fall demonstrated to Adams — and perhaps the Cardinals — he can handle refined pitching. Adams, 23, said the volume of prospects with quality secondary pitches is the biggest difference between the AFL and other leagues.
“It was good exposure to everything,” he said. “We faced guys that made their big league debuts. It was a good atmosphere and a good league to get prepped for the big leagues.”
AFL games started at 12:30, giving players time to shower, return to their apartments and watch MLB postseason contests. Adams received another pleasant surprise when the Cardinals rallied to capture their 11th World Series title. St. Louis infielders Nick Punto and Allen Craig played alongside Adams during rehabilitation stints at Springfield.
Adams beams organizational pride. He wore a Cardinals jacket to Philipsburg- Osceola’s home playoff football game against Richland last weekend, and he has established personal relationships with multiple executives, including farm director John Vuch.
His place on the first base hierarchy should become clearer within the next month. The Cardinals are vigorously trying to resign star free agent Albert Pujols. If Pujols returns, the position is his for the foreseeable future. If Pujols bolts, Adams and former State College Spike Mark Hamilton are the top in-house options.
“I have to control what I can control,” Adams said. “I can’t control what Albert does. I just go out there, get my work done and let his business be his business. He’s going to take care of that.”
Adams will conduct his off-season at home. He hits with former P-O standout and minor-leaguer Justin Hazelton and strength trains with Rob Oshinskie at Victory Sports in State College. His off-season program started Monday.
“It’s quite a long season and my body is holding up and it feels good,” said Adams, who Baseball America considers the Cardinals’ ninth-best prospect. “That goes with the work that I did last off-season. I want to improve the work I do this off-season to feel healthy for next season.”
