Left-hander Sean Newcomb, who is expected to start one of the games Saturday in the day-night doubleheader, will be the most-touted pitching prospect to make his major league debut with the Braves since they began rebuilding with veterans-for-prospects trades.
Newcomb, 23, was rated the No. 23 prospect by Baseball America before the 2016 season. He was downgraded to No. 78 this year, but his peak BA ranking exceeded those of Mike Foltynewicz (59), Matt Wisler (34), Manny Banuelos (29) and Aaron Blair.
The Angels selected Newcomb with the No. 15 pick in the 2014 draft, and the Braves acquired him as part of the Andrelton Simmons trade in November 2015. In 11 starts at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, Newcomb has posted a 2.97 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 33 walks over 57 2/3 innings.
Two current Braves who played with Newcomb in the minor leagues, outfielder Lane Adams (at Triple-A Gwinnett this season) and shortstop Dansby Swanson (at Double-A Mississippi in 2016), offered their impressions of Newcomb.
Adams
“He’s competitive. He’s got the mentality that he’s going to go at guys. He’s going to challenge guys with his fastball. I’ve faced him before, and he’s got a lot of life on his fastball. It’s one of those things, the radar gun reads that he throws hard, but you get in the box and that’s got that extra life on it that you can’t really explain until you are in the box against it.
“Watching from the outfield you see the hitters take the late swings and foul fastballs off. Missed fastballs in hitters’ counts, and that indicates how good of a fastball he has, and he’s got a good breaking ball.
“I faced him (before) and then I saw him in spring training and I thought, ‘He’s a lot bigger than I thought.’ He’s a big kid. He gets good extension and he gets on top of you, and I’m sure that plays a factor.
Swanson
“He’s a good talent, man. He’s got a live arm. He’s got great secondary stuff. I think the biggest thing for him is just to be able to consistently throw the ball where he wants it.
“I think he’s got a cool story, too, just with his high school background and then going to (University of) Hartford and just developing from there. Kind of a similar story to myself, really, kind of like overlooked a little bit, and then he was able to find something. His arm really developed, and he became a top-notch talent.
“He’s a great kid, so I love having him around. And we both share a passion for shoe shopping. We both love (Air) Jordans, so he’s my shoe buddy.”
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