Hawkeyes see pair of players drafted in 6th round of MLB Draft

CEDAR RAPIDS — Almost exactly a year ago, Jake Adams was a man without a college. Now he's about to become a professional baseball player with a nice little chunk of change in his pocket.

Ah, fate.

The University of Iowa junior first baseman was selected Tuesday afternoon by the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball Draft, the 181st overall pick. He said he likely will sign a contract and head to the Astros' spring training complex in Florida by the weekend.

'When I got my name called, my body went numb,' Adams said. 'One of those things you always dream about when you're a kid. All the hard work you've done has finally paid off, and now you are going to go live the dream.'

It was an incredible season for the 6-foot-2, 250-pound slugger from Brandon, S.D. He leads the NCAA with 29 home runs, an Iowa record, and was recently named a third-team all-American by Baseball America.

He finished with a .339 batting average and 72 RBIs, as Iowa won the Big Ten Conference tournament and advanced to a Division I regional. Adams was named the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player.

The Hawkeyes nabbed him after two years at Des Moines Area Community College and only after North Dakota, where he originally was headed, dropped its baseball program.

'After that program went down, I really thought my baseball career was not going to work out the way I wanted it to,' Adams said. 'Obviously, the Hawkeyes called me and gave me a chance, and I knew I had to produce.'

He might not be done with the state, either, considering Houston's low-Class A affiliate is the Quad Cities River Bandits. You would think he would end up in the Midwest League at some point next season or perhaps even this season, as the Astros are notorious for being an aggressive organization with its prospects.

Iowa teammate Mason McCoy was taken by the Baltimore Orioles just seven picks after Adams. The senior shortstop hit .328, with 18 doubles, five home runs and 34 RBIs.

The Washington, Ill., native played two seasons at Illinois Central Community College before going to Iowa. He said he talked to a pair of scouts Tuesday morning but had no idea if or when he would get drafted.

'I just tried to stay busy the rest of the day,' McCoy said. 'My mom was trying to keep me busy, so that I didn't think about it and was constantly checking my phone. About five picks before the Orioles picked in the sixth (round), their scout called me and said 'I think it's going to work out. We're going to get you.' He said to be by my phone and be ready to go. I was sitting there refreshing the (computer) page, my name popped up, and I got a phone call about 10 seconds after that. Definitely surreal.'

The assigned value from MLB of the draft spots of Adams and McCoy are $249,600 and $235,700, respectively. That does not mean those will be the signing bonuses the players ultimately receive.

As a senior, McCoy has no contract leverage, while Adams has significant leverage with another year of college eligibility. McCoy said he expected his contract to be signed sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday and he'd be off to the Orioles complex in Florida as early as Thursday.

Pitcher Daniel Tillo was the first Iowan off the board Tuesday, as the former Iowa Mr. Basketball from Sioux City North was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the the third round, a pitcher out of Iowa Western Community College. Des Moines Roosevelt prep pitcher John Swanda went in the fourth round, to the Los Angeles Angels.

The draft began with the first and second rounds Monday night, with rounds 3 through 10 Tuesday. Another 30 rounds will be conducted Wednesday.

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