Focal Point for Atlanta Braves Prospects, pt. 2
It’s an exciting time for our Atlanta Braves! The farm that John Coppolella and company have been building over the past few years is starting to peak it’s head into the Majors.
In the previous piece, we discussed 3 prospects and the aspects of their game that needed to show improvement before they can make the leap to become Atlanta Braves.
Today we will look at 3 more guys that need to put the polishing touches on their Minor League careers in order to make the jump to the big leagues.
The guys we are discussing are players that will likely start at AA or above and generally only need a half year or so of dominance to prove worthy for a call-up.
Sean Newcomb
Sean Newcomb was acquired in one of the most unpopular trades in the rebuild as beloved wizard who also moonlighted as a shortstop, Andrelton Simmons, was sent to the Angels.
The Braves also got an essentially worthless chicken-bone choking Erick Aybar in the deal. But we’re not talking of wizards or chicken bone chokers in this here piece, rather we’re talking Newcomb.
As stated in the last piece, Eric Longenhagen from Fangraphs compiled a Braves top-32 prospect list and here’s what he had to say about Newcomb:
“Newcomb sits 90-96 with his fastball and will bump 99. It sneaks up on hitters who are lulled to sleep by the glacial pace of Newcomb’s delivery and its effortless nature, only to see 95-plus rocket past them. Newcomb has 35 fastball command (he doesn’t always clear his front side in time and his pitches will sail) and needs another full grade of progress to be a viable starting pitching prospect. His curveball, 77-82 mph, flashes plus with impact shape and depth but, again, he struggles to command it. The changeup is fringey and relies heavily on Newcomb’s ability to maintain his fastball arm speed rather than movement or velo separation.”
What needs to step forward? Eric keeps coming back to one thing in all of Newcomb’s struggles: command. It’s plagued him his entire Minor League career and it’s enough to keep him out of the bigs if he cannot harness it.
Yes, he strikes out nearly 10 per 9 innings right now, but he’s also walking 5 per 9. In the big leagues, the Ks will likely decrease and the walks increase, and that’s a recipe for disaster.
For “NewK”, command is key. If he can work through his control lapses, lowering his BB-rate to a respectable level (3.5 or less), the Braves might have the ace that they thought they were receiving when they traded Andrelton.
Patrick Weigel
Aside from Ronald Acuna, Braves’ starter Patrick Weigel might have the most helium in the Braves system as his control seemingly came out of nowhere. People that got to see Weigel regularly, like Tomahawk Take’s own Ben Chase and Josh Brown, believe the hype.
Ben’s latest scouting report on Weigel included this about his fastball:
With his long arms and 6’6″ height, he gets good plane on the ball, and when he puts the ball in the lower half of the zone, it’s near impossible for hitters to drive, especially with the bit of arm side run and sink that his fastball gets.
In a twitter conversation with Josh, he noted to me that Weigel is on a different level because he can already command his fastball, which – according to both of these observers – has been clocked from 98 to 101.
Both have also suggested that Weigel could be close to the majors already. Ben graded his pitch repertoire at 65 (FB), 50 (Change), 55 (Curve), and 60 (a wipeout slider).
Longenhagen had this to say about him:
“Things often come together late for big, hard-throwers (if they come at all) and began to for Weigel last season. He sat 92-96 and was frequently touching 99 with an above-average low-80s slider, a loopy but average curveball and a usable but fringey change. He has a limb-y delivery with a lot of moving parts but keeps things timed well enough that he threw an acceptable number of strikes for a starter last year.”
What needs to step forward? Weigel’s fastball is his bread and butter and other pitches rely on its command.
Weigel’s “out of nowhere” control simply needs to be duplicated to prove he’s ready for the next step. He’ll likely have to work on his secondary pitches on the fly, but maintaining that fastball control is his key to success.
If you follow me on Twitter, I’ve likely been one of the biggest critics of Rio Ruiz since his acquistion. I didn’t really see the value in a 3rd baseman whose offensive and defensive skillset seemed so incomplete. And looking at his numbers, it seems like much hasn’t changed.
However, after John Hart had a “Hart to heart” with Rio discussing getting in better shape, he’s been a man on a mission and his new physique has been a buzz in camp this year.
More from Tomahawk Take
- Atlanta Braves 2012 Top Prospects Review: J.R. Graham
- Atlanta Braves Acquire Lewin Diaz from the Orioles
- Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 6-10
- Braves News: Giving the bullpen some love, Trevor Bauer reinstated, more
- Atlanta Braves: Which offseason moves have other NL East teams made?
Here’s Longenhagen on Ruiz:
“Ruiz has above-average raw power that he hasn’t been able to utilize in games because his in-game swings are stiff and effortful, and he never seems to take advantage of opposing pitchers’ mistakes, often fouling back grooved, hittable fastballs. He has a good approach and recognizes breaking balls early; however, mediocre bat control, hand-eye coordination and an excessively deep load suppress his ability to make strong contact.”
What needs to step forward? .522 OPS. That’s bad. That was Rio’s OPS against left-handed pitchers in the minors last year.
While Rio could be a solid bench piece and partial platoon with his strong showing against right-handed pitching (.834 OPS), he’ll never be a regular until he shows that he can be solid no matter the handedness of the pitcher.
He’s worked hard on his defense, shown a commitment to getting and staying in shape, now he needs to show that he can hit left-handers.
That’s a wrap folks! The final piece comes soon! Let me know if there are others that you’d like to see in this study. Let’s say it together. 1, 2, 3…