SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Angels center field prospect Jordyn Adams is considered to be the best athlete in the club’s Minor League system, but he wants to be known for more than that, as he’s looking to shed his mentality of being a multi-sport athlete and fully immerse himself as a baseball player.

Adams, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, was a star in both baseball and football at Green Hope High School in Cary, N.C., but baseball was always his passion and his first love, which caused him to pass up a football/baseball scholarship at the University of North Carolina. Adams, though, said it took him a few years in the Minor Leagues to mentally see himself as just a baseball player despite not having any inclinations of going back and playing football.

"I'm going into my fifth season and you get an idea of your weaknesses in the game," Adams said at Minor League camp on Tuesday. "I've never primarily been a baseball player and was a dual-sport athlete coming out of high school. But this offseason, I feel like I've reached that point where I'm primarily a baseball player, and I just focused on all my weaknesses and building up around that. Now, I feel like an actual baseball player, not just an athlete on the baseball field."

Adams, ranked as the Angels' No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline last season, is regarded as the best defensive outfielder in the organization and also has plenty of raw power, but much like fellow top prospect Jeremiah Jackson, he’s had issues making contact. Adams had a tough year offensively at High-A Tri-City in 2021, batting .217/.290/.311 with five homers, 18 stolen bases and 27 RBIs in 71 games. He struck out 116 times in 307 plate appearances, giving him a strikeout rate of 37.8 percent.

So Adams made it a point to work on his contact skills, including making a change to his mechanics to create a shorter path to the ball. Adams spent the entire offseason training in Arizona to get ready for the upcoming season.

"Just simplified my swing," Adams said. "I shortened down a lot of movements. I eliminated my leg kick. It's simply just hands to the ball now for me. That's been my main focus. Just shortening down and focusing on going straight to the ball."

Angels director of player development Joey Prebynski has been impressed by Adams’ work ethic this offseason and he believes Adams will continue to improve with more experience.

"Physically, he's in a great spot and has put in a ton of work," Prebynski said. "He's probably our most athletic player in the system. He can really play defense, he can really run the bases. For Jordyn, it’s about continuing to get better at the plate and having more consistent at-bats. We're really excited about Jordyn and what the future could bring because he has a ton of potential."

After playing at High-A last year, Adams could start this season at Double-A Rocket City with an outside chance of reaching the Majors late in the 2022 season. But Adams said he’s not focusing on that and hasn’t set any overarching goals for this year.

"I just want to maximize my potential," Adams said. "Honestly, I just want to go out there, have fun and play hard. The past few years, I've been in my head a lot. And this offseason, I've been focusing on the mental side of everything. In baseball, you're going to have ups and downs, and probably more downs than ups. But you have to be able to handle that, and I feel like mentally, I'm stronger than I've ever been in the game."