Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: all signs pointing to Sean Newcomb callup

With the idling of Bartolo Colon, another starting pitcher was needed for this weekend.  While the slotting isn’t entirely known at this point, it appears that the choice has been made.

The Atlanta Braves and Gwinnett Braves have set into motion a sequence of events that look likely to bring left-hander Sean Newcomb to the majors for the first time.

This information was confirmed by a tweet from the official Gwinnett Braves account as well.

According to Justin Felder of FOX5 news, Newcomb had been made aware of the possibility of a call-up this week and was getting himself ready for the opportunity.

Meanwhile, while we reported that Kris Medlen could be called upon for the open slot, that topic was addressed in comments made by Brian Snitker to the CBS Affiliate in Atlanta (h/t to Grant McAuley):

"“I think Med would’ve been a good option, but he’s not there yet,” said Snitker. “I don’t think it would be fair to him until his workload gets a little more substantial. He would be a guy you’d be real comfortable with because he knows how to navigate around a lineup and all, but I don’t think at this point in time, as far as he’s come and as good as he’s doing, we really don’t want to do that to him yet. I think three weeks from now would probably be a different story, but right now it’s just a little too early in his workload that he’s had so far to think that [Medlen] would be an option.”"

So that answer clearly reflects more of a timing issue for readiness rather than a rejection for Medlen, and that does bode well for the future – particularly if (when?) Jaime Garcia is traded away sometime in the next 6-8 weeks.

Back to the Newk Kid on the Block

So Sean Newcomb.  Big kid.  I’ve seen him standing next to Dansby Swanson and he’s noticeably taller, listed at 6’5″/255… and that’s a strong 255, not a Luiz Gohara look by any means.  In fact, there’s a notable Jon Lester look to him… in a number of ways.

Newcomb was, of course, the centerpiece of the deal that sent Andrelton Simmons to the Angels after the 2015 season.

He logged 140 innings in AA last year with a respectable 3.86 ERA.  This year, he seems to have turned a corner – kinda – on the bugaboo that has been holding him back:  command.

He’s actually gotten better in AAA than in AA with a superb K rate (11.55 per 9 innings) and lower ERA (2.97) in nearly 58 innings.

The walk rate has been the thing… currently at 5.15 per 9.  But let’s look a bit deeper.

Newcomb seems to have a tendency to walk hitters in bunches.  Examples:

• May 23 vs. Buffalo.  6 walks  in 4 innings, including 2 walks ahead of a homer.  Pairs of walks also in the 1st and 3rd innings.
• May 11 vs. Toledo.  3 walks in the first inning, 1 in the 2nd.  That was it… and he went 7 innings overall.

So he’s got the command…but runs into some sequences where he figuratively runs off the edge of the road for a bit and has some difficulty in pulling the car back into the lane.

That tendency will probably continue for a while in his career, but should slowly fade over time.

Ben On Sean: Full Scouting Report on Sean Newcomb

Looking at his pitch counts and strike rates, there is a notable consistency.  Gwinnett tended to hold him to 100 pitches in nearly every start (99,100,99,97,103,100,98 since the end of April)… regardless of the innings count.  You can expect the same when he gets to Atlanta.

While Newcomb’s WHIP is moderately high (1.35), that’s mostly due to the walks.  Hitters are batting only .212 against him, and with that high K rate, it means that while runners are getting on base, he’s limiting the damage – hence the low ERA.

Looking Ahead and Around

Now the question becomes this:  can he do all of that in the majors?

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He should at least have an arm advantage early on:  there simply aren’t many southpaw starters in the NL East (and the Braves play all of those teams, starting with the current series vs. the Phillies this week).

The Marlins have Jeff Locke, the Phils and Mets have none, and the Nats have Gio Gonzalez.  The Braves will have 2 (Jaime Garcia) when they add Sean Newcomb.

Newcomb will be 24 next week (on draft day 1) and has always had the luster of a top prospect since being drafted 15th overall by the Angels out of the University of Hartford (CT) in 2014.  He still holds a Top 100 ranking in most lists.

So while Newcomb had been slated to pitch today, he won’t be taking the spot of Mike Foltynewicz.  Instead, it look like he gets to cool his heels until Saturday.

Next: Balk call derails an otherwise solid start for Garcia

So Happy Birthday, Sean… this is a gift that I’m pretty sure you’ll cherish.  Congratulations.