Focal Point for Atlanta Braves Prospects, pt. 2
By Ryan Cothran
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.