Jason Adam is a relief pitcher who made his Major League Baseball debut in 2016 with the San Francisco Giants. While still early in his MLB career, Adam has quickly established himself as a force out of the bullpen and generated interest from collectors in his baseball cards. Let’s take a closer look at Jason Adam’s playing career so far and explore the rising value and desirability of some of his notable baseball cards.
Adam was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 33rd round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield, Missouri. He began his professional career that same year playing for the Arizona Royals of the Rookie League. Adam showed great potential early on, posting an impressive 1.46 ERA over 15.2 innings pitched in 2012. He continued to climb the Royals’ minor league ranks over the next few seasons, earning promotions to High-A Wilmington in 2013 and Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2014.
By 2015, Adam had cemented his status as one of the top relief pitching prospects in the Royals’ deep farm system. That season with Northwest Arkansas, he recorded a stellar 1.90 ERA with 88 strikeouts over 74 innings. His dominance at Double-A level led to his first inclusion on MLB prospect lists and generated buzz around his potential arrival in the major leagues. Unfortunately, Adam suffered an elbow injury late in 2015 that required Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the entire 2016 season while rehabbing.
Despite the injury setback, the Royals still believed strongly in Adam’s abilities. In November 2016, they protected him from the Rule 5 Draft by adding him to their 40-man roster. Shortly after that in December, Adam was traded to the San Francisco Giants along with minor leaguer A.J. Puckett in exchange for third baseman Elect Philips. It was a fresh start with a new organization for Adam as he continued working his way back from elbow reconstruction.
After spending 2017 rehabbing in the Giants’ minor league system, Adam finally made his long-awaited MLB debut on April 25, 2018. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief against the San Diego Padres and showed no lingering effects from his injury. Adam bounced between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento several times that season, amassing a combined 3.33 ERA over 33.1 innings between the majors and minors. He began to earn more high-leverage opportunities with the Giants as the year progressed.
The 2019 season represented a true breakout for Jason Adam. Now fully established as a big league reliever, he appeared in a career-high 60 games and notched a stellar 2.91 ERA over 67 innings pitched. Adam demonstrated the ability to get outs against both righties and lefties while surviving some extended outings. His impressive control and deceptive delivery made him a trusted bridge to the late innings. On September 11th against the Cubs, Adam famously recorded the final five outs of the Giants’ 4-0 shutout, earning his first career save.
Adam’s breakout ’19 season opened the eyes of numerous baseball card collectors. His rookie cards from 2018 Topps, 2018 Bowman, and various minor league issues gained significant value as his MLB success continued. It was his 2019 Topps base card that became the most sought-after by collectors. With an electric debut and top-notch stats, Adam’s rookie season cemented him as someone to watch. Prices for his 2019 Topps paper card soared from around $5 upon release to over $20-30 each within a few months.
The MLB hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19 put baseball cards on the back-burner for many people. But Adam capitalized on his momentum when play resumed, posting a stellar 1.69 ERA over 19 innings in San Francisco’s abbreviated season. He followed that up with an even better 2021 campaign, registering career-bests with a 1.47 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over 67 appearances. Along the way, Adam notched his first career save against significant odds on July 28th against the Reds, when he entered in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded and retired the side in order.
Adam’s emergence as one of MLB’s top setup men these past two seasons has made his modern cards extremely collectible. Low-numbered parallels and autographs from his 2019 and 2021 Topps series are some of the hardest-to-find Giants cards on the secondary market. Prices have rocketed up accordingly – recently a 2021 Topps Black Border Parallel #/75 sold for over $300. Even mass-produced base rookies from 2018 and 2019 top $50-75 each raw now. With Adam still only 27 years old entering 2022, collectors expect his cards to continue gaining in desirability and monetary worth if he maintains an elite late-inning role.
Now with four solid MLB seasons under his belt, Jason Adam has developed into arguably the most trusted reliever in the San Francisco bullpen. His pinpoint control and unconventional delivery make him a challenge for any hitter. At just 6’0″ tall, Adam gets great deception on his offerings by releasing the ball very low to the ground. He features a mid-90s fastball with natural sinking action, a biting slider, and an effective changeup – an arsenal that’s served him well against all types of MLB hitters. Barring any major setbacks, Adam is poised for several more productive big league seasons. As one of the top young relievers in baseball today, his cards represent a great long-term investment for savvy collectors. Only time will tell just how valuable a complete Jason Adam card collection may become.
In summary, Jason Adam went from a little-known 33rd-round draft pick to an elite late-inning reliever with the San Francisco Giants. Through persistence after injury and continual improvement, he’s established himself as one of baseball’s premier shutdown arms. Adam’s emergence also made him a hot commodity in the baseball card collecting world. From inexpensive prospects to expensive parallels today, his cards offer an intriguing case study of the rising values that accompany on-field success. With multiple prime seasons still ahead, Jason Adam collector’s staples like his 2019 Topps rookie are primed to gain even more traction and desirability in the years to come.
