Meet Cooper Adams, the Red Sox Pitching Prospect Flying Under the Radar
Cooper Adams hasn’t taken the traditional route that many pitching prospects have taken around professional baseball.
Adams began his collegiate career pitching for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County before transferring to Mount Saint Mary’s University. After being a dependable starter for the Mountaineers in his final two college years, the right-hander went undrafted in the 2023 MLB Draft. Instead of giving up, Adams trained at Tread Athletics where he was throwing 96-97 MPH at a pro day in January.
The 24-year-old had to wait until the following February to begin his professional career when the Red Sox signed him before the 2024 season started.
After his first professional spring training, Adams was assigned to High-A Greenville where he spent the entire season. He pitched in 26 games and started in 6 of them. While he may not have posted the numbers he had hoped to in his first professional season, the Red Sox seemed to like his underlying data as they sent him to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. After being one of the Red Sox selections to pitch in Arizona, Adams had a short offseason before heading back down to Fort Myers earlier than his report date.
During spring, the Maryland native had the opportunity to back up a big league game against the Phillies. His two strikeouts were Christian Arroyo and Rodolfo Castro and got one of the hottest hitters this spring, Gabriel Rincones Jr., to fly out. Not too bad of an effort for a guy who has not appeared in a game above High-A.
“It’s been a crazy kind of ride for me that I was not expecting,” Adams said of his spring. “I was really happy with the Arizona Fall League invite and it topped it off by getting the chance to back up big league games. I didn’t think I would be in this position at this point in my pro career.”
His latest accolade comes in the Spring Breakout Game where he was selected to represent the Red Sox when they take on the Tampa Bay Rays. Adams is one of the few players on the roster to not be ranked on any publication’s top prospect rankings. Taking on the role as an ‘underdog’, he still knows that he belongs in the game with some of the best young talent in the organization.
“Just getting to see Marcelo and Roman up close was a cool feeling,” Adams said of the Breakout Game. “I also was teammates with the Rays during the AFL. So, I got to face former teammates in Tre Morgan and Xavier Isaac. As a baseball fan, it was a treat to be a part of the game. Our system is stacked and so are the Rays.”
The Organization obviously sees something they like in Adams to give him spots in the Arizona Fall League and Spring Breakout Game. After appearing in 26 games last season in High-A, it will be interesting to see where he is assigned to start the 2025 season after a busy offseason. A promotion to Double-A Portland wouldn’t be a surprise at this point.