Riley Keaton Adams (born June 26, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

San Diego Toreros The San Diego Toreros are the 17 teams representing the University of San Diego of San Diego, California in intercollegiate athletics. The Toreros compete in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of the National Collegiate At ...

of the University of San Diego. In 2021, he made his debut with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

before being traded to Washington.

High school and college

Adams was born on June 26, 1996, in

Encinitas, California Encinitas ( Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California. Located within Southern California, it is approximately north of San Diego, between Solana Beach and Carlsbad, and about south ...

. He attended Canyon Crest Academy in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. There he was a two-sport athlete, playing

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and baseball. In basketball, Adams once recorded 31

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

in one game. In baseball, he made the school's varsity baseball team in his freshman year as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

. He switched to catcher as a sophomore, when his

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

asked him to move to fill the open position. The Chicago Cubs selected Adams in the 37th round, with the 1,099th overall selection, of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

, but he did not sign so that he could enroll at the University of San Diego. Adams played

for the

. In the summer of 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star. Adams was twice named a semifinalist for the

Johnny Bench Award The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by the Greater Wichita Area Sp ...

. As a junior in 2017, he won the West Coast Conference Player of the Year Award, and finished his collegiate career with a .305

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 24

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and 110

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

in 159 games played.

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

The

selected Adams in the third round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

, with the 99th overall selection. They signed him to a contract with a $542,000 signing bonus. Adams made his professional debut with the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

, and went on to start in the Northwest / Pioneer League All-Star Game. Adams played in 52 games for the Canadians in 2017, and hit .305 with three home runs and 35 RBI. In 2018, Adams played for the

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpar ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League where he slashed .246/.352/.361 with four home runs and 43 RBIs in 99 games. In 2019 he appeared in 81 games for the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

, hitting .258 with 11 home runs. Adams did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He was added to the Blue Jays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season but did not get called up. On November 20, 2020, Adams was added to the 40-man roster. On May 2, 2021, Adams was promoted to the major leagues for the first time after backup catcher

Alejandro Kirk Alejandro Kirk (born November 6, 1998) is a Mexican professional baseball catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Early life Kirk began playing baseball at three years of age, and grew up a fan of Albert Pujols and the ...

was placed on the 10-day injured list with left hip flexor discomfort. On May 5, Adams was optioned to Triple-A without making a major league appearance. On June 8, Adams was again recalled to the active roster. He made his MLB debut that day as the starting catcher against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. In the game, he notched his first career hit, a double off of White Sox starter

Carlos Rodón Carlos Antonio Rodón (born December 10, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played MLB for the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants. Rodón is a two- ...

Washington Nationals

Adams was traded to the

for reliever

Brad Hand Bradley Richard Hand (born March 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Toronto ...

on July 29, 2021. He notched his first hit as a National, as well as his first career home run and RBIs, off

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

reliever

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

in the ninth inning, giving his team the late lead, on August 7, 2021.

Personal life

Adams began practicing karate at the age of three. He earned a second degree black belt when he was 13 years old, and then began to focus on his baseball career. His elder brother, Cameron, played college baseball at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. Adams was an accomplished science fair competitor, notably for his studies of

pampas grass Pampas grass or pampas-grass is a common name which may refer to any of several similar-looking, tall-growing species of grass: * Species of ''Cortaderia'' including: :* ''Cortaderia selloana'' and its selected cultivars :* '' Cortaderia jubata'' ( ...

which resulted in his participation in the California State Science Fair. Adams was also a standout high school basketball player, earning All League honors as a sophomore, junior and senior.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Riley 1996 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from California People from Encinitas, California Major League Baseball catchers Toronto Blue Jays players Washington Nationals players San Diego Toreros baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Vancouver Canadians players Dunedin Blue Jays players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players La Crosse Loggers players