Nats New Duo Will ‘Slide’ To Triple-A
WASHINGTON—Righthanders Kyle McGowin and Austin Adams, newly acquired from the Angels for big league shortstop Danny Espinosa, both depend on their sliders.
“I like my slider a lot, but he has one of the nastiest sliders I’ve ever seen,” the 6-foot-3 McGowin said of the 6-foot-2 Adams. “He’s also a real hard worker and a great teammate.”
The two have been teammates at high Class A Inland Empire and Double-A Arkansas over much of the past three seasons, and they could well be on the same staff at Triple-A Syracuse in 2017.
Both 25-year-olds have high strikeout rates but also have battled to find command.
Adams said he turned a corner in that regard in 2016, which helps explain why the Angels added the reliever to the 40-man roster in November. An eighth-round pick in 2012 from South Florida, Adams struck out 61 and walked 24 in 41 innings in 2016.
“Working with our pitching coach Scott Budner,I stuck to three terms: Be athletic, attack the zone and stay in rhythm,” Adams said. “If I did those three things, I had a good outing.”
With a four-seam fastball that sits 93-97 mph and can get up to 99, Adams has tried to rely less on his slider. He also throws a two-seamer and has worked on a changeup. He pitched in the Venezuelan League this winter, which he thinks will help him against experienced hitters in 2017.
McGowin, who grew up on Long Island and took a Division I offer from Savannah State, developed into a fifth-round pick in 2013. He went 9-14, 5.83 in 2016, notching 130 strikeouts and 55 walks in 142 innings between Arkansas and Triple-A Salt Lake. The effectiveness of his changeup might detrmine whether he remains a starter.
“I had some bumps and learned a lot,” McGowin said, “but I felt comfortable by the end of the season.”
CAPITAL GAINS
• Espinosa became expendable because Trea Turner will move to shortstop following the acquisition of White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton, for whom the Nationals surrendered righthanders Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning. Eaton “gives us flexibility both positionally (and) flexibility payroll-wise,” general manager Mike Rizzo said.
• The Nationals also traded 19-year-old righthander Pedro Avila to re-acquire catcher Derek Norris from the Padres.
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