The Braves starting pitching is upticking nicely in May. Reasons for optimism bloom.
One minor clarification. That’s the Gwinnett Braves, the slightly knock-off version, who have found some life in their extremities. You may have sensed that has not been the case with the parent club.
Those fans seeking signs that the Great Braves Makeover has gained any purchase would do well to shift their gaze from Cobb County to Gwinnett. It’s there, in the laboratory of Triple-A baseball, where the future is being centrifuged while the 40-something likes of Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey hold down hanger space in the major league clubhouse.
There are actual highlights to report from this week:
On Monday night, hometown Lawrenceville kid/No. 1 draft pick Lucas Sims went 6 1/3 innings, holding the Toledo Mud Hens to five hits and a run in a G-Braves victory. It was the latest in a series of five strong starts for Sims (3-0) this season. His Triple-A line for this young season: 35 innings pitched, 32 strikeouts, eight walks, a .180 batting average against and an ERA of 2.57. He was named International League pitcher of the week in late April.
And during Thursday morning’s truancy special at Coolray Field, Sean Newcomb turned what looked to be an early exit into a winning seven-inning outing against the Mud Hens. He issued three of his four walks in the first inning, gave up a couple of early runs then recovered to retire 14 of the last 15 hitters he faced.
Newcomb was younger than most of the schoolkids who filled up Coolray Field on Thursday when he dropped the right-handed glove his grandfather bought him and threw his first ball left-handed. Good choice. He is to date 2-2 with the G-Braves, with 46 strikeouts, 19 walks, a 2.90 ERA and a .240 opponents batting average in 37 1/3 innings.
Sims, 22, and Newcomb, 23, are only the most prominent — currently — of the legion of young arms the Braves have hoarded. Another, Patrick Weigel, was just bumped up here from Double-A. And back in Mississippi, 19-year-old Kolby Allard is the one making a fuss. On such a trove rests a franchise’s entire philosophy.
Both Sims and Newcomb also are examples of the volatility of young pitching. Regardless of the public’s wish to rush these lumps of coal along — especially while the major league club is languishing out of contention — there are other needs at play here. Say, for example, making somewhat certain they actually belong in the bigs.
The minor league experience has been particularly harrowing for Sims. Not only has he yo-yoed up and down the Braves’ prospects list as his performance rose and waned, but he also fell victim to that staple of the minors — the bus ride. Aboard the Carolina Mudcats bus that overturned in 2015, Sims missed the next two months while his bruises healed.
To his credit, Sims has found a way to find positives even in a bus crash. “If I didn’t get in the bus crash I probably would have thrown too many innings to go to the (Arizona) Fall League. I went there and learned a lot (and compiled a 2.12 ERA),” he said. Although, he admits, he still can get a little restless riding a bus.
There would be further inconsistencies in 2016 for Sims, the Braves minor league pitcher of the year soon after being taken in the first round of the 2012 draft out of Brookwood High. Strong at Double-A Mississippi (2.67 ERA). Scuffling at Gwinnett (7.56 ERA).
He came out the other side of that season deciding that a new outlook was required.
There was too much self-inflicted pressure in 2016, he concluded. “I was like I got to pitch to get to the big leagues.” Every bad outing was followed by a mild panic and the thought he had to make big, sweeping changes if was going to fulfill the childhood dream of playing for the big Braves.
So, “I changed my mindset,” he said. “Wherever I am, I’m there. I’m there to pitch and I’m there to win. Everything else takes care of itself.”
Such patience is hard to come by as these players divide their attention between their development and the obvious pitching void on the big league team. You can hear it in Newcomb’s words, when asked how much attention he pays those other Braves in Cobb County.
“I try to focus on what we’re doing here,” he said. “We definitely watch the (major league) games and see how the competition — I guess you could call it — is doing. They are teammates from spring and hopefully teammates again soon. You pull for everybody, but you’re also kind of looking for your spot.”
Looking for a spot for these young arms is a popular pastime throughout the Braves’ empire, from the fans to the front office. Earning the spot will depend upon filling some of the valleys that have marked the professional charts of Sims and Newcomb.
Management’s reviews of both are fairly interchangeable, centering on the search for that needed consistency.
Gwinnett manager Damon Berryhill on Sims: “He’s been consistent for us. Consistently spotting his fastball well and showing a plus breaking ball for us, giving us quality innings and getting us deep into games. It seems like each start is getting a little bit better.”
And, then, Berryhill on Newcomb: “Newk has been the same way, each start has been better each time out. We looking for that same consistency, trying to get most all these guys to be a bit more efficient with their pitches and their pitch count.”
These two are tributaries to a river of arm talent running through the Braves’ system. Their place in the current is subject to change, outing by outing. As they grow and the big-league Braves settle to the bottom of the standings, the question remains, when will they get their chance?
“If they’re beating the level (they’re at), it’s time,” Gwinnett pitching coach Reid Cornelius said.
“Just have to be patient, keep it in perspective. You have a job to do today, and let’s get it done and take tomorrow as it comes.”
Isn’t waiting for the cake to bake always the hardest part?
