Travis Adams spent a lot of this season being the last guy off the field before Twins games, and that extra time has turned into more than a pregame habit. In his sophomore year, Minnesota’s long reliever started tossing a football with kids in the stands, a small routine that has quickly become part of his identity around the ballpark.
“I mean, when I was a kid, I wished an athlete would have thrown a football with me,” said Adams. “I think it just creates a bond with the fans.
It’s a long season. Fans get a little mad, too.
So why not give them something to be happy about, just throwing a football with the kids?”
The gesture has made him popular with fans, but the bigger development came on the mound in the second half. Adams turned into a steady bullpen option, putting up a 3.41 ERA and 1.16 WHIP while allowing 12 walks and striking out 30 across 34 ⅓ innings.
That stretch mattered because the first part of the year was much less settled. Minnesota sent Adams to Triple-A and recalled him three times in April and May, a churn that made it harder for him to settle into a rhythm.
“I would say just getting more comfortable and having the feeling of not having a bad outing and getting sent down, and after that,” he said. “I think once I got past that, it just made the game easier, and I just trusted my abilities.”
Twins manager Derek Shelton saw the same progression and pointed to Adams’ willingness to keep taking the ball.
“If you want to look at a bright spot of a guy that’s been in our system and come up and done really effective things, I think he has done a really, really good job,” said Twins manager Derek Shelton. “I think the one thing that I really appreciate and admire about Travis Adams is that he’ll take the ball, regardless of how much he’s pitched. When he’s pitched … over the last two months, it’s been really effective.”
The numbers show a shift in how Adams was being used. His strikeouts-per-nine rate dropped from 11.7 in the first half to 7.9 in the second, but that wasn’t about losing stuff. Adams said the change came from a different job description: more longer outings, less need to chase strikeouts, and a focus on keeping his pitch count manageable so he could be ready again for the team.
“I was starting to do more [one-inning outings] and punch out more guys. [That’s what] I wanted to [do], and then I started to get longer, so I was like, there is no need to try to punch out every guy,” he said.
“It’s not going to be effective. There is a pitch count to get back a couple days later for the team.”
Adams also credited the bullpen around him, along with bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins, for helping him settle into the role. The conversations with veteran relievers, he said, helped him simplify things and attack hitters with more confidence.
“I really think it was just talking to the older guys and stuff, getting their opinions on certain things that I was going through, and I think just changing the mentality on the mound, attacking hitters, and baseball is a hard game,” Adams said. “Why are you making it harder [by] giving the hitter more credit? I was giving myself more credit, and it seemed like it made it a little bit easier.”
With Minnesota expected to spend the offseason addressing the bullpen again, Adams has at least given himself a real case to stick around as depth, especially in long relief. Shelton said the development of his cutter and changeup has stood out, and that Adams has handled both right-handers and left-handers well.
“We’ve seen the cutter continue to get better; the changeup’s been better,” said Shelton. “He’s been good versus both right and left, and it’s really an encouraging sign because I would really say it’s a promising development that he’s really turned into that middle-inning guy that can eat innings and be effective.”
In Other News...
Twins Farm System Just Put Two Important Names On Notice
Walker Jenkins rise through the Twins system kept moving this season, and the organization made the progress official by naming the young outfielder its Minor League Player of the Year. After a strong minor league campaign and an August call to the majors, Jenkins continued to show why he is viewed as one of the most important pieces in the clubs long-term picture, pairing eye-catching offense in the minors with a promising first taste of big league action.
Adrian Bohorquez also forced his way into the conversation after a season that required him to overcome injuries before settling in and throwing well at both High-A and Double-A. The right-handers work earned him the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year honor, and together with Jenkins, he gave the farm system a pair of names that should keep drawing attention as Minnesota looks for more help on the horizon. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Prospect Rankings Reveal A Fast-Changing Race To Target Field
The Twins prospect picture looks a lot different now than it did a year ago, and not just because several of the organizations biggest names have already made the leap to the majors. Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez are no longer waiting in the queue, which has reshaped the conversation around who is next in line for Target Field and how much help the system can still provide in the near future.
In the latest rankings, Hendry Mendez and Riley Quick are the clearest risers after strong seasons that boosted their standing, while Eduardo Tait slid despite some encouraging signs in his game. It leaves Minnesota with a farm system that is still producing intrigue, but with the race for the next wave of impact talent changing quickly as evaluators sort out who is truly advancing and who still has more proving to do. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Fans Sent A Clear Message The Team Cant Ignore
The numbers at Target Field told a blunt story this season, and the Twins could not paper over it with giveaways or cheaper ballpark food. Minnesota finished with its lowest full-season attendance at the park, drawing 1,733,203 fans, a drop of 35,525 from a year ago even after the club rolled out promotions designed to make games more appealing and easier on the wallet.
Tom Pohlad has already acknowledged the attendance issues, and the message from the stands is hard to miss: fans want a better product before they fully buy back in. The front office can tweak the experience around the margins, but the real fix, as Pohlad noted, has to come from stronger play on the field if the Twins are going to stop this slide and bring more people back through the gates. [Read more 🡒]