Brewers Make Their Pitch

Middle Tennessee pitcher Hunter Adkins’ childhood dream was realized when his name was
called in the 18th round on draft day, but the junior is now left with a looming decision.

However, Adkins said despite the excitement, he’s “leaning toward” staying at MTSU to finish
out his senior year.

“I was excited because I didn’t even know they were going to draft me until I saw my name
pop up, and I got the phone call,” Adkins said. “It was like everything I worked for just kind of
happened. It was awesome.”

Adkins, a native of Signal Mountain, Tenn., was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers with the
575th overall pick of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday. The six-foot-four
right-hander became the highest Blue Raider drafted since outfielder Bryce Brentz was selected
with 36th pick in 2010.

Like Brentz, Adkins is now faced with the decision of whether to return to Murfreesboro for his
senior year or forgo his eligibility and sign a contract with the Brewers.

“It’s been a big thing with my family for me to finish my career and get my degree. I talked to
[the Brewers] yesterday, and they threw a number out at me. I haven’t told them yes or no yet,
but I’m kind of leaning toward coming back for one more year and getting another year of school
under my belt,” he said.

Adkins started 2012 as the Blue Raiders’ Friday night starter and experienced significant early-
season success before cooling down in conference play. He posted a career-best performance on
Feb. 24 against Ohio when he shutout the Bobcats in only 96 pitches. On April 6, he fanned a
career-high seven batters in 7.1 shutout innings versus conference-foe University of Arkansas at
Little Rock.

After struggling to find his command late in the season, Adkins finished 2012 with a 5-6 record,
an ERA of 5.75 and 59 strikeouts in 76.2 innings of work.

“My approach this year was to just throw strikes and eliminate the walks because that was a
problem last year. I just try to let my defense do the work because the pitcher and the catcher
aren’t the only ones out there. Hopefully, we can pick it up where we left off and start next
season off really well,” he said.

Adkins was part of a resurgent Blue Raider club in 2012 that went 31-28, eclipsing last year’s
win total by 13 games. MT fell just one game short of the conference championship game and a
chance to head to the NCAA Regionals for the second time in four years.

Adkins now has until the July 13 signing deadline to decide whether to stay at MT for his
senior year or accept a minor league contract from the Brewers. Teammates Justin Guidry, Joey
McClung and Nick Montgomery were not selected in this year’s draft but may still sign contracts
with professional teams as undrafted free agents, as well.

This marks the fifth straight season that the Blue Raiders have had at least one player selected in
June’s amateur draft. Adkins is the first Blue Raider pitcher to be drafted since Kenneth Roberts
was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 25th round in 2010.