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Atlanta Braves: Reviewing 2019 for Sean Newcomb and what his future holds

By Jake Mastroianni

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 09: Sean Newcomb #15 of the Atlanta Braves delivers the pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning in game five of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 09, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 09: Sean Newcomb #15 of the Atlanta Braves delivers the pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning in game five of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 09, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 21: Pitcher Sean Newcomb #15 and catcher Francisco Cervelli #45 of the Atlanta Braves shake hands after the game against the San Francisco Giants at SunTrust Park on September 21, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 21: Pitcher Sean Newcomb #15 and catcher Francisco Cervelli #45 of the Atlanta Braves shake hands after the game against the San Francisco Giants at SunTrust Park on September 21, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

Newcomb as a reliever

At the time when Newcomb was recalled to the big leagues the Atlanta Braves bullpen was a complete disaster.

So they made the decision to put Newcomb out there to see if he could calm things down while he continued to work on things.

It ended up working out beautifully for the Atlanta Braves as Newcomb was lights out as a reliever and his command seemed to improve tremendously.

He didn’t give up a single run in his first seven outings after being called back up. In fact, he gave up just 2 earned runs in his first 20 outings after being recalled.

The only negative for Newcomb is that when he did give up runs as a reliever, he gave them up in bunches. He had four outings in 2019 in which he gave up 3 earned runs out of the bullpen.

As a reliever in 2019, he had an ERA of 3.04 with a WHP of 1.163 allowing just 19 walks in 53.1 innings with 57 strikeouts.

Newcomb was great in the postseason as well, not allowing a run, hit, or a walk over four appearances with 4 strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched.

Moving Newcomb to the bullpen was certainly a move that paid huge dividends in 2019, but I’m not sure if it’s the best spot for him moving forward.

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