OC Register: First-round pick Jordyn Adams wastes little time committing to Angels

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — Turns out that Matt Swanson wasn’t simply being optimistic when the Angels scouting director said he expected to sign first-round pick Jordyn Adams.

Adams, a prized football recruit who had accepted a scholarship to play football and baseball at the University of North Carolina, said on Tuesday that he’s already agreed to terms with the Angels.

Reports prior to the draft indicated Adams might be difficult to sign, but that was apparently not the case.

“I’m glad to make it official that I’m going to be part of the Angels organization,” Adams said on a conference call. “I’m ready to go to work.”

The 17th overall pick in the draft, Adams won’t officially sign with the Angels until he can get out to Southern California for a physical. The amount of his bonus wasn’t available, but the slot value for the 17th pick is just under $3.5 million.

Adams, a wide receiver known for his explosive speed, is passing up the chance to play for the Tar Heels. His father, Deke, is an assistant coach at North Carolina.

“I played baseball my whole life,” Adams said. “The opportunity to get better overall as a baseball player was very big for me. I felt I couldn’t pass up the opportunity presented to me right now.”

ANOTHER OHTANI?

The draft continued through the 10th round on Tuesday, with the Angels drafting pitchers with all eight of their picks. One of them, though, is also an outfielder.

The Angels announced William English as a two-way player when they picked the Detroit high schooler in the fifth round. English had an 0.93 ERA and he hit .419. He has a scholarship to play at Tennessee.

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“We’re starting to see the evolution of organizations open to drafting players like that, develop them and see where the path takes them,” Swanson said Monday night, before they took English.

Other than English, the rest of the Angels’ picks were college pitchers, all right-handers. The common thread was they all averaged more than a strikeout an inning this year.

The draft concludes on Wednesday, through the 40th round.

ALSO

The Angels optioned utilityman Kaleb Cowart to Triple-A and recalled reliever Eduardo Paredes on Tuesday, getting some more coverage for a bullpen that worked 7-1/3 innings in the previous two days. …

Shohei Ohtani came through with his second pinch-hit in four at-bats on Monday night, prompting Manager Mike Scioscia to be asked if he’s any closer to lifting the self-imposed restriction against using him to pinch-hit the day before or after he pitches. “There’s a lot of stuff we’re looking at right now, as we get into this program and see what adjustments we might be able to make on usage,” Scioscia said. “But we’re not quite there.” …

The Angels’ game against the Dodgers on July 8 at Angel Stadium has been moved from a day game to a 5 p.m. start for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. The New York Yankees were originally scheduled to be on that night, but they appealed to Major League Baseball and ESPN to make a change since they now have a doubleheader the next day, a makeup of a rainout. The Angels will have at least three Sunday night games this year, including their April game against the Yankees in Anaheim. Their Sept. 2 game at Houston was also moved into prime time.

UP NEXT

Angels (Shohei Ohtani, 4-1, 3.08) vs. Royals (Ian Kennedy, 1-6, 6.08), Wednesday, 7 p.m., Fox Sports West, KLAA (830 AM)

#TheHaloWay pic.twitter.com/now5i4ivpG

— Jordyn Adams (@jordynadams10) June 5, 2018

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