Atlanta Braves: With Hamels injury, is Newcomb a lock for the starting rotation?
By Josh Mathews
Hey, that’s a pretty good fit
Once Newcomb was demoted and recalled (check this) on May 4, he hit the bullpen. Early results were great. Honestly, he was brilliant. Often critical of Brian Snitker’s personnel decisions, fans should have been delighted when it was announced he was in the bullpen to stay.
Over his first 20 appearances, he gave up just two earned runs. Near the end of that stretch, he got hit in the head with a 102 mph batted ball. However, he never really missed a beat, only allowed earned runs once in the month of July out of the ‘pen. He finished with a 2.61 ERA over that timeframe.
Newcomb continued at around the same clip for the remainder of the year. His ERA hit a high water mark of 3.54 after getting roughed up by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he ended the season with a good September push.
2019 Newcomb stats: 6-3 record, 3.16 ERA, 68.1 IP, 24 ER, 61 H, 65 SO, 29 BB, 1.31 WHIP.
If you take out his three April starts (one good, one bad, one ugly) he allowed just 18 earned runs on the season and his ERA finishes just a tad under three- 2.96. Newcomb even picked up a save in a pinch.
If you ask me, I think that Sean’s demeanor just seems like a relief guy. He’s focused and in my opinion, has improved greatly with not appearing to be emotional on the mound. That mental toughness that comes along with the maturation of a pitcher. There’s little doubt that Newcomb grew as a pitcher and a big leaguer during the 2019 season.
Overall, Newk was a welcome addition to the Atlanta Braves bullpen, and being a lefty, he was a weapon that Brian Snitker could deploy in almost any game situation, whether it was long relief or a situation with a bit more pressure involved.