Atlanta Braves: Pitchers And Catchers And Lane Adams?
By W. M. Lawson
Most of Major League Baseball marked an important day today. Pitchers and Catchers reported, marking the unofficial beginning of the season. For the Atlanta Braves, so did Lane Adams.
For baseball nerds, today is like when the comic book nerds see a trailer for a movie on YouTube that won’t come out for years. It’s like when car geeks sit and gorge on Barrett-Jackson for 72 straight hours. It’s like CBS scribe Barrett Sallee when The Bachelor or Rad come on. There is a textual and strident excitement in the air. Pitchers and Catchers reported to camp today, and it unofficially marks the beginning of the MLB season. The Atlanta Braves were no different, except they had an extra early attendee: Lane Adams.
In truth, Lane Adams was joined early in camp by another position player, Two-time Gold Glove winner, Ender Inciarte. Their presence means something.
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From the time Inciarte showed up, he’s been that dude who showed both flash and a work-horse mentality. You won’t out work him. You definitely can’t out hustle him. Thus, it’s not surprising to see him in camp early. He is growing into a bona fide leader of this team.
Lane Adams, though, is very intriguing. Prior to last season, dude had only appeared in 6 games in the Majors. In fact, he could’ve gone to college on a basketball scholarship. He is the fifth-highest scorer in Oklahoma High School Basketball history. But he chose baseball.
Adams was called up in April of 2017, and his line wasn’t too shabby: 109 AB, .275 AVG, 20 RBI, 5 HR, and 10 SB. He did have 37 Strike Outs to 10 Walks. That’s not good. But for his first full year in “The Bigs”, that’s probably to be expected.
So, why write about a dude with average averages and hardly any time playing? Because Adams very well could be the Atlanta Braves’ starting RF on Opening Day.
All eyes are on young phenom Ronald Acuna, and most fully expect him to take that spot eventually. He might even do it sooner than later.
But were Lane Adams to go in there, perform well, and provide time for the young Acuna to acclimate, he would prove his worth, and possibly provide depth and production off the bench. Something the Braves desperately need.
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Pitchers and Catchers reported today. So did Inciarte and Adams. Let’s see if that extra time and effort give results for Mr. Adams. It certainly shows desire and unselfishness. And that’s always a positive.