James Adkins

Who is James Adkins?

James Edward Adkins is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

He played baseball at the University of Tennessee prior to being drafted by the Dodgers in the 1st round in the 2007 MLB Draft. He was a 1st team Freshman All-American at Tennessee in 2006 and was MVP of the Knoxville Regional at the College World Series. Adkins is Tennessee's all time leader in strikeouts with 350 career strikeouts. Adkins played for the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League in 2007, starting 11 games for the Loons and finishing with an 0-1 record and a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings of work during his first season of professional baseball.

In 2008, he was 5-8 with a 5.34 ERA for Single-A Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino and 1-3 with a 4.74 ERA in 8 starts for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns. He started 26 games for the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2009, with a 6-10 record and 4.48 ERA. He was converted exclusively to a reliever in 2010, making 40 appearances for the Lookouts and 5 for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. He was released by the Dodgers on April 5, 2011. He signed with the Cincinnati Reds on May 4, but was released in August.

After taking the 2012 season off, Adkins spent 2013 with the Grand Prairie AirHogs and Gary SouthShore RailCats, both part of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.