La Crosse, WI – Former La Crosse Logger Riley Adams became the 22nd former Logger to make it to the big leagues when he made his Major League debut for the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. Adams is the 261st former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Adams, who played collegiately at the University of San Diego, pitched for the La Crosse Loggers in 2015. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 2017 MLB draft.
In 2015 with the Loggers, Adams played in 23 games and hit .257 with two home runs, five doubles and one triple. He drove in 13 runs and scored 20 times.
Adams began his professional career in 2017 with the Vancouver Canadiens of the Short-Season A Northwest League. He hit .305 in 52 games with three home runs and 16 doubles. He drove in 35, walked 18 times and stole a base.
Adams was promoted in 2018 to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Hi-A Florida State League. Over 99 games he hit .246 with 43 RBI and 49 runs scored. He had a career-highs in doubles with 26 and home run with four.
In 2019 Adams began the year with Dunedin and then moved up to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the AA Eastern League to finish the season. For the year he hit a combined .261 with 14 home runs, 18 doubles and two triples. He scored 58 times and drove in 51 runs.
Adams spent Spring Training in 2021 with the Blue Jays and played in 14 games. He hit .267 with two home runs and four runs driven in. With Buffalo he hit .250 over 19 games with six home runs, and nine RBI. He walked 11 times and scored 14 runs. In his Major League debut against the White Sox Adams started the game at catcher and went 1 for 3 at the plate.
###
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 28th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 260 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
