When the Rockies traded for Mason Adams, they liked what they saw in the right-hander’s stuff. However, it’s something that doesn’t show up in the box score that has perhaps impressed those inside the organization the most.

Acquired in the Aug. 3 deal that sent Brenton Doyle to the Chicago White Sox, Adams has impressed in his first two MLB starts, posting a 3.00 ERA with 10 strikeouts in nine innings.

The numbers are solid, especially for a 26-year-old rookie making his debut four years after becoming a 13^th-round draft pick by the White Sox. Add in that one of the starts came on the road against Atlanta, the National League East leader and in the thick of the race for a first-round postseason bye and the numbers are perhaps even more impressive.

But there’s more to Adams than the numbers. According to Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer, it’s what you see from Adams when he’s on the mound that is making perhaps the biggest impression.

“The poise that he shows on the mound, that’s not normal for a young guy to come up and do that,” Schaeffer said. “His first two starts, especially on the road in hostile environments, have been very impressive.

“He’s shown the ability to make in-game adjustments already, which is impressive. Obviously the physical stuff has been really good too. His ability to spin the ball has been good as well as his ability to throw his heater where he wants to.”

Scouting reports on Adams ahead of his MLB debut discussed a curveball that could be his biggest weapon and a fastball that features heavy movement. Those were the things that worked well for him in the White Sox organization, and Adams said his transition to the Rockies has not changed those strengths.

“Since I’ve been here, it’s been, ‘OK, keep doing what you’re doing,’” Adams said. “There’s been a little more focus on the location of breaking balls, making sure they’re down in the zone or below the zone. That was the main focus for me going forward.”

It’s a focus that hasn’t been lost on Schaeffer.

“That’s one thing we heard about him coming in was that he spins the ball beneath the zone very well,” Schaeffer said. “In the minor leagues, his track record was that his spin was up high in the zone and he was getting hit. He’s buried the spin very well in his first two outings here.”

Both of those outings came on the road, and Adams will now see how that spin plays at altitude when he is scheduled to start Saturday at Coors Field against St. Louis.

While this may be his first time pitching in Denver, Adams got a taste of altitude during his first two starts after the trade at Triple-A Albuquerque. With an elevation of 5,312 feet, Albuquerque proved to be a good proving ground for Adams in his first Pacific Coast League experience. In his 13 innings there, he posted a 2.08 ERA.

“You wake up one day and suddenly you’re heading to New Mexico,” Adams smiled about his trade from the White Sox and move from Triple-A Charlotte across the country. “The stuff is a little different whenever you first start throwing out there, but you change your starting lanes (for the pitches) and you’re fine.”

Adams said he will “tinker with some stuff” before he takes the mound Saturday after pitching twice inside low-elevation stadiums. However, he also said he doesn’t focus on the possibilities of what could happen to his pitches at altitude, but rather on the things he can control.

“With the breaking balls, I have to make sure they’re brought into the zone and get ahead of guys early,” Adams said. “When you do that, those breaking balls have somewhere to go later in the count (outside the strike zone).”

September will prove to be a testing ground for Adams and just how secure his spot in the 2027 rotation might be. At most, including Saturday, he may have four more starts left in the campaign.

But why worry? If the past week-plus has been any indication, the Rockies aren’t concerned about any kind of pressure affecting Adams.

“I caught him during his first outing in Washington. Catching him in the bullpen was the first time I caught him, but seeing his stuff, it’s really promising,” Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman said. “I like the way he pitches. The first two outings, the poise he’s had has been awesome. He looks like he has taken everything in stride.”