Three of the vaunted Braves’ young pitchers who made their major league debuts last season, left-handers Luiz Gohara, Sean Newcomb and Max Fried, are competing at spring training for the final two spots in the starting rotation.
Newcomb’s 19 starts in the majors are more than twice as many as Gohara (five) and Fried (four) had combined, but Newcomb also had the most problem with command, totaling 57 walks to go with his impressive 108 strikeouts in 100 innings in the majors.
The general consensus in that Gohara is the front-runner for one of the two openings, and Newcomb and Fried probably will compete for the other.
In an interview with the AJC on Thursday, veteran catcher Tyler Flowers discussed the three young pitchers and a couple of other topics, including pace-of-game rules and power-hitting catching prospect Alex Jackson.
1. On the key for Newcomb to be successful and realize his potential:
“Strike 1.” (Throwing his first pitch for a strike.) He knows it. He might know it too well, you know? That might be part of the battle, maybe knowing how critical it is, he’s trying too hard to place it in there or something? I don’t know.
“When he does it, it’s impressive. The numbers support that. When he doesn’t, it’s not as impressive. You become more predictable, (hitters) are able to be more selective, get rid of some of the chase, especially on his breaking balls when they’re hunting more at one spot, one location kind of thing. Suddenly you get strike 1, they broaden kind of what they’re looking for, whether it be pitches or location. And that’s when you can really expose them. ...
“And the ability to throw a breaking ball for strike 1, then you can throw a heater (fastball) off of it, then another breaking ball below that back-foots them, then another heater in. There’s a lot of recipes for him – not just for him, but for everybody it starts off with the ability to get strike 1.”
2. On Newcomb, Gohara and Fried all being different type of pitchers, though Newcomb and Gohara both throw hard:
“But a little different, yeah. Newk’s more (about working) off the curve ball, Gohara’s more off the slider. Both extremely effective for them, but you’re right, very different. And Fried’s kind of the mix in-between. He’s got the ability to throw both the (curve ball) and the slider and change-up in there. Pretty good fastball command, too. So, we’ll see who steps up and becomes the most consistent of the bunch. But they’re all going to be solid big-leaguers.”
3. On Fried being more classic lefty, like a Tom Glavine type:
“For some reason I think of (Steve) Avery when I think of Fried. There’s a little finesse to it. I remember Steve being like that, and he was always smooth out there, too.”
4. On Fried's two breaking balls, are they two variations of curve or one a curve and one a slider?
“I would call one a slider, one a curve. But they can get closer to each other, at least speed-wise, depending on what he’s trying to do with it. It’s a good thing to be able to manipulate it a little bit, change speeds and shapes with it. You’re disrupting timing when you do that – if every fastball you throw is 95 miles an hour, that’s easier to time than if you mix it from 90 to 96, you know? At least gives them a little more variable for the hitter as far as timing.”
5. On Fried being smart, not a young guy you have to kind of take by the hand:
“None of those guys really (need to be coddled or led by the hand). They all seem to have a decent idea how to pitch, a good understanding of themselves and what they do when they’re going well and most of them understand what’s going on when they’re not going well. That’s something big, especially at young ages for all of them. To at least be able to recognize those kinds of things, that just means they’re going to be able to, at some point, be able to get themselves back on track sooner. Usually that takes a little bit longer to kind of get a feel for that and figure some things out.
“I think they’re all a little ahead of what you would hope out of, whatever they are – 21, 22, 23?” (Gohara is 21, Friend and Newcomb are 24.)
6. On the young pitchers seeming to be confident and pretty fearless out there. Even Fried who's not a big, hulking guy who can overpower like the other two are:
“They all are, honestly. I didn’t catch Fried as much. I caught Gohara at least three times, and I caught Newcomb a lot. I think that’s one of the best things amongst some of the best pitchers or the most consistent pitchers is when you look at them out there every inning, you don’t know if they’re up by five, down by five or if they’ve given up 10 hits or if they’ve given up none. Something that they all seem to possess is just that even keel. I think that starts with preparation and confidence.
“Trust in themselves is something that’s going to be big for them over a season because most of the time when you’re out there you’re not going to feel great. And it’s all the work you do and have done and you continue to do in preparation, that’s what kind of instills the confidence in you even in (games where you struggle and go) four innings and five runs. Just knowing that ‘hey, this is the rough one, I’m going to keep grinding through it and the next one will be better’ kind of thing. I mean, that’s how you have to approach it, because pitchers – starters especially – they’re not going to feel good a majority of the time. If you do that’s a bonus. But to be able to compete and execute game plans when you’re not feeling good, that’s the real difference maker.”
7. On pace-of-game rule changes announced this week and how they might affect Braves pitchers and catchers:
“I thought about it a little bit last night. I think it’s just going to emphasize preparation, which is something we do very well to begin with. I think it will (reward teams and pitchers who prepare). I don’t think it’s going to be that much of a difference honestly; I think for some teams or some staffs or some catchers it might be a little of an adjustment, but all in all, I don’t think it will be that big of a deal. But you never know.
“That game you get crossed up (miscommunicate on a pitch) or something, like, four times. ... I haven’t read all the fine print on it though. The last thing I saw, there were exceptions to it. For example, if I’m running to back up first base on a ground ball in the infield, no one on, I can communicate with (the pitcher) on my way back, that’s my understanding. And I believe, like, cross-ups are not a visit. So, say, I call a pitch and it hit off my chest or something, or I whiffed it and it went all the way to the backstop. I believe me visiting (with the pitcher) after that doesn’t count as a visit. Again, I haven’t ready all the fine print. We haven’t addressed it as a team.”
8. On power-hitting prospect Alex Jackson's development as a defensive catcher over the past year, since he was traded to Braves and moved back to his original position:
“I haven’t seen him enough catching-wise to really say. He can’t be any worse than I was at that age and level and stage of development. We’re actually very similar because I played first base my first two years in the minors and then starting catching again. I mean, he’s not far off that similar path. (Jackson was an outfielder for 2 1/2 seasons in the Mariners’ system before he was traded to the Braves a year ago and moved back to catching, his position in high school when he was the sixth overall pick of the 2014 June draft.)
“He might have a little more juice than I did at that point; he definitely does now. I used to have some pop when I was young. But he reminds me of me a little bit. We’ll see.”
