Adam Conley

Adam Michael Conley

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 185 lb.
• School Washington State University
• High School Olympia High School
• Debut June 10, 2015

• Born May 24, 1990 in Redmond, WA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Adam Conley is a veteran of five big league seasons.

Conley had a 1.83 ERA as a high school junior then set Olympia High records for wins (8), strikeouts (86) and opponent average (.129) his senior year. He was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 32nd round of the 2008 amateur draft, one pick after Sam Freeman, but opted not to sign. As a college freshman at Washington State University, he was 1-1 with a 5.97 ERA and set a school freshman record with 25 games pitched. As a sophomore, he was 5-4 with 12 saves and a 3.33 ERA. He was second in the Pac-10 Conference in saves, two behind Jordan Swagerty, and tied for 11th in NCAA Division I in saves. Moving to the rotation, he was 6-7 with a 3.50 ERA as a junior in 2011.

Adam was a second rounder by what were then the Florida Marlins in the 2011 amateur draft, signing for a $625,000 bonus with Gabe Sandy. He was the second player taken by Miami, following Jose Fernandez. Adam made two relief appearances for the GCL Marlins that year and did not allow a run. Prior to 2012, he was named the 10th best prospect in the Marlins' system by Baseball America. Adam was 11-5 with 135 strikeouts and a 3.47 ERA in 26 starts (127 innings) split between the Greensboro Grasshoppers (7-3, 2.78, 84 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings) and Jupiter Hammerheads (4-2, 4.44, 51 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings) that year and was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game and named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star. He tied Brad Hand for third in the Marlins chain in wins, behind Fernandez and Tom Koehler, and was 4th in strikeouts (behind Fernandez, Hand and Koehler). Once again named the 10th best minor leaguer in the Marlins organization by BA - and the 7th best prospect by MLB.com - for 2013, Conley was 11-7 with 3 complete games, a shutout and a 3.25 ERA in 26 games (25 starts) for the Jacksonville Suns. In the Southern League All-Star Game, he relieved Andrew Chafin in the 4th inning of a 6-0 win for the southern SL stars over the northern SL stars. He retired Matt Szczur, Arismendy Alcantara and Joc Pederson in order, Pederson by strikeout, then was replaced by Tim Crabbe for the 5th. For the year, he was among league leaders in ERA (10th), wins (tied for second, one behind Archie Bradley), WHIP (3rd, after Kyle Hendricks and Victor Mateo) and strikeouts (5th). In the Marlins farm system, he led in wins (one over Jose Urena) and was second in strikeouts (18 behind Brian Flynn).

Conley began 2014 with the Triple A New Orleans Zephyrs but injuries limited him to 12 appearances, with one additional outing with Jupiter. His record was 3-6 with a 5.95 ERA in 65 innings. He was much better in 2015, as he cut cut a good three runs off his ERA and was called up to make his debut with the Marlins on June 10th, pitching the final inning of a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays by retiring all three batters he faced. He was sent down to New Orleans immediately afterwards, but came back to make his first career start just before the All-Star break, on July 11th. Facing the Cincinnati Reds, he earned his first career win by pitching 5 innings, allowing only 2 runs, and was the beneficiary of a 21-hit outburst by the Marlins' offense as they prevailed, 14-3. In all, he pitched 15 times, 11 starts, going 4-1, 3.76 in 67 innings. On April 29, 2016, he went 7 2/3 innings without allowing a hit to the Milwaukee Brewers before manager Don Mattingly decided to remove him from the game. He had already made 116 pitches, and there was no way he would have been able to pitch a complete game, so Mattingly yanked him before he threw too many pitches. Jose Urena replaced him and kept the no-hitter going by retiring Jonathan Villar after Domingo Santana reached on an error. But in the 9th, Jonathan Lucroy singled after one out and Milwaukee eventually scored three runs before A.J. Ramos recorded the last out. Still, the Marlins won, 6-3, and Conley earned his first win of the year. He was excellent again in his next start, on May 5th, pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. On July 3rd, he started the Fort Bragg Game, the first MLB game played on an active military base, picking up the win against the Atlanta Braves. On the season, he finished 8-6, 3.85 with 124 strikeouts in 133 1/3 innings.

The next three seasons were rather nightmarish. Adam pitched 22 times with 20 starts in 2017 and was racky-tacked, finishing 8-8 with a 6.14 ERA. The Marlins decided he would now be a member of their bullpen in 2018 and he responded somewhat in finishing 3-4, 4.09 with 3 saves in 52 games. It was back to struggling in 2019 when he was 2-11, 6.53 with 2 saves in 60 games in 2019.

Sources

• 2014 Marlins Media Guide
• Baseball Cube
• 2012 Baseball Almanac

Further Reading

• Richard Justice: "Conley's step forward turns page on Marlins' tough day: After All-Star Gordon was suspended, young lefty has best game of his career", mlb.com, April 30, 2016. [1]
• Jorge L. Ortiz: "Marlins look to Adam Conley - and Highway 61, revisited - to fill rotation", USA Today Sports, March 26, 2016. [2]

Related Sites

• Adam Conley on mlb.com
• BR Minors page