Riley Adams

BIOGRAPHY

Riley Adams was born on June 26, 1996, in Encinitas, California. He is a catcher in the MLB.

He attended Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, California. There he was a two-sport athlete, playing basketball and baseball. In basketball, Adams once recorded 31 rebounds in one game. In baseball, he made the school's varsity baseball team in his freshman year as a shortstop. He switched to catcher as a sophomore, when his coach 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, but he did not sign so that he could enroll at the University of San Diego.

Adams played college baseball for the San Diego Toreros. In the summer of 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Adams was twice named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award. 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, 24 home runs, and 110 runs batted in in 159 games played.

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Adams in the third round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, 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 of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, 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 of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League where he slashed .246/.352/.361 with four home runs and 43 RBIs in 99 games.

On November 20, 2020, Adams was added to the 40-man roster.

Adams was traded to the Washington Nationals for reliever Brad Hand 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 reliever Will Smith in the ninth inning, giving his team the late lead, on August 7, 2021.