As October closes in, can the Atlanta Braves rely on their young lefty to take the ball in a postseason game
The April and May version of Sean Newcomb was excellent. He was pitching outstanding and was most likely headed for his first All-Star berth. But as the summer has rolled around, Newcomb’s numbers have been rising with the temperature. Keep in mind, this is all just probably part of him feeling the effects of his first full major league year, but the question is, can the Atlanta Braves rely on him to be effective in a playoff game if the Braves are fortunate enough to make it there?
Walks, walks, and more walks
The biggest issue with Newcomb has clearly been his lack of command. In total, “Newk” has pitched 149.1 innings this season and has issued 74 walks! It doesn’t take a math professor to see that’s averaging right around 1 per every 2 innings or 4.5BB/9IP. Obviously, those numbers aren’t attractive nor good.
We have all heard the saying a walk in October is a rally, and more than 1 in an inning is almost always a killer. What’s worse is this is not just a couple-start phase. Newcomb has started 27 games this year, and in only 1 start has he issued no free passes. (Oddly enough, that was in Denver) He has only issued 1 walk in 3 starts. So in 23 of his 27 starts, there has been 2 or more walks.
Been a rough stretch since the near no-no
Newcomb hasn’t done himself any favors since his August matchup with Scherzer. In his last 5 starts, Newcomb has pitched 23.2 IP, and the numbers are, well, just plain atrocious. He has allowed 21 Earned Runs, issued 15 walks, and has allowed 35 hits. That’s over a 2 WHIP, and almost a 9.00 ERA. The Braves have to ask themselves, if he is pitching his way out of the #2 October spot that he most certainly was cruising too until August rolled around.
Some good news to end it though
Folty, and Gausman without a doubt have 2 playoff rotation spots locked up. Assuming the Atlanta Braves go with a 4-man rotation, Sanchez, Teheran, and Newcomb will battle it out for the last 2 spots. Teheran has improved with his last few starts, and Sanchez has been quality all year. Still, one would imagine the Braves would much rather have Newcomb heat up again and become the #2 pitcher he can be. He still has time to correct the flaws, most notably the abysmal walk rate. After all, the Braves might need him to pitch like that again just to make it into October.
As Fred discussed earlier this week, Sean Newcomb is much better with Kurt Suzuki. He had Suzuki behind the plate on Tuesday, which begs the question how much worse things could have been, and certainly it should raise a caution flag at the least as to whether Newcomb is an arm you want holding the ball to open a playoff game.