Kansas City area native Jason Adam earns big league call up to his hometown Royals

Today, the Kansas City Royals added 26-year-old right-handed relief pitcher Jason Adam to the 40-man roster and called him up to the big leagues. They optioned Scott Barlow back to the minor leagues.

The last time most Royals fans heard of Adam was in 2014, when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins for rent-a-bat Josh Willingham. At the time, the 23-year-old Adam had struggled in his second stint as a starter at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and was having mixed results as a reliever at Triple-A Omaha. But now, Adam will make his big league debut for the club that originally drafted him.

This is a cool story for multiple reasons. First, Adam spent three years in rehab from some arm troubles, missing all of the 2015 and 2016 seasons and being released by the San Diego Padres in 2017 before being picked up again by Kansas City. A triumphant return from injury coupled with a big league debut is compelling.

But even more compelling is that Adam is a native son of the Kansas City metro, who will now make his debut for whom he grew up cheering. Adam graduated from Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas in 2010.

After clearing Brandon Maurer’s spot from the 40-man roster, it seemed likely that the Royals would fill it with one of their young bullpen arms, like Richard Lovelady or Josh Staumont. Adam got the call. The 6’4” righty had been dismembering minor league batters. In 18 innings so far this year between Double-A and Triple-A, Adams posted a 1.00 ERA and struck out 13 batters per nine innings.

It is yet unclear whether Adam will be available for tonight’s game against the Detroit Tigers.