Perhaps the most experienced pitching coach in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Arthur “Ace” Adams, is leaving for the Houston Astros for 2015, FanGraphs’ David Laurila reported on Friday. I have confirmed the news.
There, the 61-year-old will be reunited with a considerable number of ex-Cardinals, including Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow, major league pitching coach Brent Strom and minor league pitching coordinator Dyar Miller. Just last month, the Astros also hired away long-time Cardinals scout Charlie Gonzalez.
Adams spent seven seasons working in the Cardinals system, including the last two with Palm Beach in the Florida State League. The Massachusetts native was at Class A Quad Cities in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012 and short-season A Batavia in 2011.
Ace began coaching young pitchers with 13 seasons in the college ranks, concluding at the University of Michigan, where he helped recruit Derek Jeter and was among those who tutored a young Wolverines catcher named Mike Matheny. Starting in 1997, Adams moved to the professional game, working for the Expos, Marlins and Red Sox before joining St. Louis.
At this point, neither the Cardinals nor the Astros have announced their minor league field staffs for next season, but I had expected greater change across the Cardinals system for 2015 than in recent years even before I learned of Adams moving on.
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