Matt Adams (55)

Stance: Upright and tall stance. Keeps his front foot ever-so-slightly back. Keeps his hands at neck level and close to his body. Arms are kept close to the body with his upper half turned slightly away from the pitcher and his head looking over his front shoulder. Uses a small leg lift into a closed stance for his stride.

Approach: Aggressive hitter. Struggles with strike zone awareness and needs to improve his ability to draw walks. Has relatively decent pitch recognition but gets caught guessing still. Loves the ball on the outside of the plate, especially down in the zone. Struggles with the ball down and inside. 

Hitting Ability: Has a slight upper cut to his swing, and it can get a bit long at times. Middle of the order bat that hits for power and average. Hits the ball well to all fields both in the air and on the ground. Hits for a strong average typically around the .270-.280 mark. Strikes out too often, and doesn’t walk enough although that is slowly improving. Really struggles against left-handed pitching and must improve that if he wants to take the next step into All-Star level hitter.

Power: Has above average power, capable of hitting 20-25 bombs if given an everyday job with the potential to even touch the 30 homerun mark. Shows power from center to right field. Power plays in any ball park.

Running: Well below average speed, no threat to steal. Station to station runner who is a base clogger that will only get worse unless he loses considerable weight. Will virtually never attempt a stolen base.

Fielding: Fringe average fielder at first base. His size and lack of speed/quickness limit his range. Does have soft hands and a solid glove capable of spearing hard hit choppers. Relatively smooth around the bag and stretches well for throws that are off line. Has below average arm strength with average arm accuracy.

Physical Description: Big bulky un-athletic body. Carries a lot of bad weight throughout his frame, especially in his mid-section and upper body. Has the body of a refrigerator. Has powerful lower body, big broad shoulders and a muscular back. Needs to lose considerable amounts of weight and is a major concern over continuing to add bad weight in the future.

Projection: The future starting first baseman of the Cardinals offers a strong bat with adequate defense. Capable of being a middle of the order bat that hits for both power and average. Could grow into an All-Star level hitter if given an everyday role and if he can improve his ability to hit left-handers.