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Of course, when you grow up in Olympia as a Seattle Mariners fan, it’s only natural that Conley says it would be “awesome” to sign with the Mariners.
“I think the first time I said I wanted to play professional baseball, I was about 7 years old,” said Conley, an Olympia High School graduate who just finished his junior season at Washington State University.
“I remember I was watching Randy Johnson pitch. He was playing for the Mariners back then. I guess by the time I was 7 years old, I was smart enough to realize that Randy Johnson threw with the same arm as me. I thought that was pretty cool.”
Like Johnson, Conley is a tall, hard-throwing left-handed pitcher. Conley’s fastball has been clocked in the upper 90s. Poor offensive and defensive support helped limit Conley to a 6-7 record and a 3.50 earned-run average this season.
“If Adam does what we think he can do,” WSU coach Donnie Marbut said, “10 months from now, 12 months from now, he might be in the big leagues.”
Conley hopes to be one of the 60 players selected Monday in the first-year player draft (4 p.m., MLB Network). The draft, which consists of 50 rounds, runs through Wednesday.
Baseball America magazine ranks Conley the 69th-best prospect in the draft. Marbut said “there’s no way” Conley will be drafted lower than in Tuesday’s second round, which begins with the 61st pick.
The first round (33 picks) is followed with a sandwich round (27 picks) for teams that lost free agents to other clubs.
“I think Monday they’re going to give me a shot,” Conley said.
Conley said the teams that have been in the most contact with him lately are the Mariners, the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. The Mariners draft second overall, behind Pittsburgh. Seattle’s second pick is 62nd overall.
Conley was drafted out of high school by Minnesota in the 32nd round of the 2008 draft but decided to attend Washington State.
Marbut said he rules out nothing for Conley, but the coach envisions the 6-foot-3, 186-pound southpaw in a set-up relief role in the majors. Marbut raves about Conley’s competitive nature and work ethic.
“I see him pitching the seventh or eighth inning for about 15 years in the big leagues,” Marbut said.
“Those left-handed specialists, they make a lot of money.”
Conley said he expects to be used as a starter when he first turns pro, but he does not rule out a future in the bullpen. He pitched in relief most of his first two seasons at WSU and was one of the nation’s top relievers as a sophomore before moving into the starting rotation later in the season. He was WSU’s No. 1 starter this season.
After Conley, Baseball America’s No. 2 prospect out of Washington is former Auburn Mountainview High School star Cody Hebner.
Hebner, a right-handed pitcher, is ranked 179th overall after two years at Green River Community College. He’s playing summer ball for Bremerton’s Kitsap BlueJackets and has signed a letter of intent with Arizona State.
Washington Huskies signee Robert Stephenson, the California high school player of the year, is a pitcher who is ranked 25th. Another pitcher signed by the Huskies, Blake Snell of Shoreline’s Shorewood High, is ranked 184th.
Leading candidates to go No. 1 include UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole, Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon and Virginia pitcher Danny Hultzen.
Several WSU players figure to be drafted, including redshirt sophomore first baseman Taylor Ard and junior right fielder Derek Jones. Marbut said he’s hopeful that senior shortstop-second baseman Cody Bartlett, a Kentwood graduate, will be selected.
Washington senior first baseman Troy Scott has been drafted twice before. Huskies pitcher Jacob Clem, Gonzaga pitchers Cody Martin and Wade Carpenter, and former Huskies pitcher Andrew Kittredge (academically ineligible this season) are other draft prospects.
