An Interview With Padres Draft Pick Brian Adams

Brian Adams was drafted in the 8th round this year by the San Diego Padres. He is an intriguing and talented athlete. He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats as a wide receiver. He caught 5 passes for 46 yards last year, but decided to drop football and focus on baseball full-time. He has tremendous speed, as he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash in college. Adams a 6’4 230 lb OF, that bats and throws right-handed.

He did not play a great deal of baseball at Kentucky, but was still able to put up some impressive numbers. In his three-year career with the Wildcats, Adams hit .312, with 4 HR’s and 28 RBI’s. He made his professional debut Friday night for the Eugene Emeralds, and answered a few questions for Chicken Friars.

Q: Recently you decided to give up football full-time, and focus on baseball. What were the reasons for the switch?

A: “I just really liked baseball. I feel like I had more opportunities with the game, and that I could do a little more with baseball. It was a tough decision, but I am excited to focus on baseball full-time.”

Q: Aside from the the obvious fact of more contact, what are the biggest differences between preparation between baseball and football.”

A: Football takes a little more time, with studying film. There is not really as much film to study with baseball, but both sports do feature a lot of scouting reports that a player needs to learn. Baseball has a few more individual workouts, as opposed to football.”

Q: Last night was Opening Night in Eugene, and you guys had a sold-out crowd. Do you feed off of that? Or do just go out there and worry about your game?

A: “You definitely feed off it. Last night was a really fun game, the crowd was electric. And Clark(Em’s First Baseman Clark Murphy) hit a walk-off single. Coach Murph(Emeralds manager Pat Murphy) always talks about playing winning baseball, and I think the crowd gave us a lot of energy last night.

Q: You are just starting your professional career, do you have any personal goals for the season? Like hitting a certain amount of HR’s, or something like that?

A: “Not specifically. I am just trying to get as many at-bats as I can. I have not played summer ball since I was 9. I just really want to get more experience. I know I have the athletic ability to play at the next level. I can field, I can throw well, but I really need to work on my swing. ”

Q: What is the draft experience like? You were drafted out of high school, and then again this year? Take us through the process.

A: “Because of my high school experiences, I was pretty familiar with it. In high school, I spoke to more scouts face-to-face, while in college a lot of my coaches kinda handled it. This time around there weren’t really any private workouts, like there was out of high school.”

Q: When exactly were you looking for in a team when going through the draft process? When teams preach about signability, what specifically made you want to sign?

A: “I was really looking for honesty. I was honest with the teams that talked to me, and I wanted them to be honest in return. It was not specifically about the money, but I wanted to go to an organization that really wanted me to play for them. The Padres, along with the Red Sox, Diamondbacks, and Blue Jays were the teams that showed the greatest interest in me.”

Q: What can fans expect from Brian Adams?

A: “I play aggressive, hard, and I have a lot of speed. I really have enjoyed watching Mike Trout play recently, and I think that we have a lot of similarities in our games.”

Q: The Eugene Emeralds roster is thrown together pretty quickly. Has the experience been pretty chaotic?

A: “Yeah, it has been pretty chaotic. I am just trying to learn everyone’s name, but so far it seems like we have a great bunch of guys.”

Q: From a personal standpoint, what interests to you have outside of baseball?

A: “I just like hanging out at the lake, listening to country music. Making S’mores, and just being a normal 20-year-old.”

A big thanks to Brian Adams for being such a great interview. He seems like a great kid, and hopefully we will see him at Petco in the near future.