Chance Adams is finally getting a chance to prove his worth to the Yankees and only time will tell if he makes his first start worth the team’s while.
Chance getting called up to pitch in Saturday’s 4:05 EST matchup is just about all said and done. With J.A. Happ going to the DL with an illness and Luis Cessa taking up most of the bullpen innings last night the Yankees are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The first thought should be why not call Justus Sheffield up? He’s been incredible in both Double-A and Triple-A this year. Sadly, Sheffield pitched on Thursday which means there is no way the Yankees would risk the young prospects arm on a single day of rest. Lance Lynn was acquired at the trade deadline for this exact reason, to give the Yankees some rotation depth.
Now that Sonny has been demoted to the bullpen, Lance has been slotted into the starting rotation. This means that if the Yankees try to start him on Saturday, they are going to mess up the pitching rotation. Sonny could start? But do the Yankees really want him to start him? He just gave up a few runs Wednesday to the Triple-A Baltimore Orioles. It seems like the decision of bringing Chance up is pretty logical… or is it? Let’s discuss it and find out.
Who Is Chance Adams?
Chance Adams is a 23-year-old prospect that was born in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was selected by the Yankees in the 2015 Amateur Draft, in the fifth round with the 18th pick. He pitched very well in the minors and was considered to be a top-tier prospect right alongside Justus.
Things went downhill for Chance this year as he has posted a 4.50 ERA and has gone 3-5. Before this year, Chance had posted an ERA higher than 3.10. He is a big guy that is listed at 6’1 and 220 pounds. He is a 4 pitch pitcher whose arsenal includes a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. His fastball is his deadliest and highest rated pitch according to Fangraphs.
Why Is He Getting The Nod?
He’s getting the nod purely because it lines up with his pitching schedule. Adams pitched on Monday so his next day on the mound will be Saturday. Not only does it line up well but Adams pitched a gem on Monday throwing seven innings of no-hit ball. Riding the hot hand has been a constant ideology for the Yankees this year and it’s hard to reason why they should go against that this weekend. Let’s talk about the positives and the negatives.
Positives are that if you give Adams a chance and it might let him build back up his confidence. If he can pitch well in the Majors and continue to improve in the minors then it will only increase his trade stock.
If that’s the way that the Yankees would want to go they could use Chance as a trade chip at the deadline next year in case they again need to be buyers. Another positive is that the Red Sox don’t really have a chance to see Chance’s pitches. That’s a huge advantage for the pitcher because he can keep the batters off balance.
Negatives are that Chance is having a rough year so far. A terrible season from him this year could mean he’s done and that he is not going to do any better in The Show. He is going to come into a game that if lost will not be good for the Yankees in the race for the AL East. A failed opportunity pitching in the big league could easily destroy Chance’s overall confidence and that would hurt him even more in the minors.
When it comes down to it, I’m extremely excited to see Chance in a high-pressure situation in the majors. I like Chance a lot and I think that this season in the minors for him has been a complete fluke. He’s going to bounce back and I could easily see him come up and be slotted into the rotation in the next 2 years. The first step is to have a good start against the Yankees inter-division rival this Saturday.