Sean Newcomb

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Atlanta Braves #8 prospect in 2017
  The 15th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Newcomb was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Andrelton Simmons to the Angels after the 2015 campaign. A two-sport standout in high school prior to pitching at Hartford, he appeared in the Futures Game during his lone season with the Angels before leading the Double-A Southern League with 152 strikeouts and ranking second with a .224 opponent average in 2016. Newcomb is a power pitcher who improved the consistency of his delivery over the course of the 2016 season. His fastball ranges from 90-95 mph but sits at 92-93 and tends to jump out of his hand due to his ability to hide the ball until he releases it. He records many of his strikeouts with a hard, tight curveball that possesses plus spin and sits at 77-78 mph. Newcomb's mid-80s changeup is at least a solid-average offering but lacks late movement. He tends to lose his rhythm and focus on occasion, helping produce his below-average control, and he needs to get more aggressive with his pitch selection when he's ahead in the count. Newcomb has the broad-shouldered frame and strength to be a workhorse in a big league rotation--if he throws enough strikes. He is ready for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2017 and should make his major league debut at some point during the season.
• 
  Ranked Atlanta Braves #1 prospect in 2016
  The Angels took Newcomb with the 15th overall selection in the 2014 draft and signed him for $2,158,400 after the southpaw blossomed while pitching in the Northeast. He attended high school in Middleboro, Mass., before moving on to Hartford. A former high school tight end who had several opportunities to play college football, Newcomb struggled to throw strikes as a college freshman before ranking second in NCAA Division I with 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings as a sophomore in 2013. Newcomb shined as a junior, ranking seventh in the nation in ERA at 1.25. After a brief pro debut in the Angels system in 2014, Newcomb climbed from low Class A Burlington to Double-A Arkansas in 2015, his first full season, and was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the offensive-oriented high Class A California League. The Braves made Newcomb the centerpiece of their November 2015 deal with the Angels that sent Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons to Anaheim and also netted Double-A righthander Chris Ellis and veteran big league shortstop Erick Aybar. Newcomb is a potential workhorse, featuring a big, durable frame and a three-pitch repertoire from the left side. He does a good job of working off his lively fastball that sat at 91-94 mph and was clocked as high as 99 mph in 2015. His fastball command can be inconsistent, as evidenced by his walk rate of 5.0 per nine innings, but he throws easy gas with above-average movement and struck out 11.1 batters per nine in his full-season debut. That rate ranked third among qualified minor league starters in 2015. Newcomb has the makings of a plus curveball with its upper-70s velocity, tight spin and swing-and-miss potential. He became infatuated with his breaking ball at times early in 2015 before learning how to set up hitters with his fastball and changeup, while the Angels forced him to throw his solid-average changeup more often. The offering has good armside action, and he made excellent strides with the depth of the changeup while working with high Class A Inland Empire pitching coach Matt Wise. Newcomb displays confidence and possesses excellent mound presence, is not afraid to challenge hitters, and can be intimidating with his high three-quarters arm slot and tall, physical frame. He repeats his clean delivery with consistency due to his solid athleticism. Newcomb does a good job fielding his position, though he had trouble holding runners. The Braves were attracted to his aptitude as well as the low mileage on his arm, and they believe he has a much higher ceiling than the most college pitchers. Atlanta has added impressive pitching depth to the organization over the past 18 months--acquiring first-round talents such as Touki Toussaint and Max Fried via trades and selecting Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka in the first round of the 2015 draft, among other moves--but Newcomb should prove to be the best of the bunch as long as his control progresses. Scouts are mixed on his long-term potential, projecting him to be anywhere from a No. 1 to a No. 3 starter. He could begin 2016 at Double-A Mississippi or Triple-A Gwinnett and make his major league debut during the season.
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #2 prospect in 2015
  Ric Wilson had made only one first-round pick as the Angels' scouting director, even though he'd been on the job since October 2010. Happy to be back in the early part of the draft, he continued a recent emphasis on adding pitching depth to the organization with the selection of Newcomb . The 15th overall pick, Newcomb signed at the deadline for $2,158,400. A tight end in football during high school who was recruited by several major colleges, Newcomb filled out only one questionnaire from professional teams as a prep senior and preferred baseball to football even though Hartford was his only recruiting visit. After a shaky freshman season in which he walked 38 batters in 45 innings, his stock took off the next year when he ranked second in NCAA Division I in strikeouts per nine innings (11.5). His pro debut included four starts at low Class A Burlington, and one Midwest League playoff start that included six strikeouts in five, one-run innings. Newcomb is a big-bodied lefthander who draws comparisons with former Red Sox ace Jon Lester for his size, physical appearance and delivery. He projects to have three plus pitches, with a riding, 91-95 mph fastball that has life above the barrel. Scouts believe he throws his heater with some of the easiest velocity of any pitcher in the draft in recent memory, and it has touched as high as 98 mph. Newcomb's fastball gets on the batter quickly, and his overall command keeps the hitter in swing mode in pitchers' counts. His best secondary pitch is a curveball he delivers at 74-80 mph, with a spin rate already well above major league average. He's shown aptitude with his breaking ball, considering it was a below-average pitch when he was a sophomore. His third pitch is a changeup at 78-82 mph that he throws with armside action and good arm speed. While his changeup sometimes flattens out when left up in the zone, it projects to be at least average. Newcomb uses a high-three-quarters delivery, which he repeats well. He has very good makeup and is mature and composed on the mound. Newcomb's body is built to burn innings, making him a potential mid-rotation starter capable of logging 200-plus innings per year. He will jump on the fast track and should be ready for high Class A Inland Empire out of spring training, with a move to Double-A Arkansas before the end of the 2015 season.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #11 prospect in 2014 draft
  Newcomb wasn't a priority follow in high school and walked 38 in 45 innings as a Hartford freshman. He took off in 2013, however, ranking second in the nation in strikeouts per nine (11.5) and landing a spot in the Cape Cod League. A bout of mononucleosis interrupted his Cape stint. Newcomb has flashed mid-90s velocity but more often pitches at 91-93 mph with his fastball from a sound delivery, and the ball gets on top of hitters because he does it so easily. He has plenty of projection left with a strong 6-foot-5, 240-pound workhorse body and a fresh Northeastern arm. He maintains his delivery and throws a lot of strikes with the fastball, though he tends to get away with elevated pitches against modest competition. His breaking ball wavers between a curve and slider, and scouts believe his arm slot lends itself more to a curveball. His changeup flashes promise, though he uses it sparingly. Scouts can dream on Newcomb more than the average college pitcher but also have less certainty because of his short track record.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked International League #11 prospect in 2017
  The Braves called up Newcomb on June 10 after he struck out 11.5 batters per nine innings through 11 IL starts. He continued to miss bats--and hand out walks--in Atlanta. IL evaluators were impressed with Newcomb's 94-97 mph fastball and 78-82 curveball--cited by most as plus pitches--and one manager said the control he showed against his team was better than the numbers would suggest. One scout even evoked the name Jon Lester as a high-end comparison. Newcomb's future hinges on improving his well below-average control as well as the development of his changeup, which showed flashes of promise in the IL and induced myriad swings and misses in the majors. A future as a high-leverage reliever is possible if he doesn't improve in these areas.
• 
  Ranked Southern League #8 prospect in 2016
  The Braves traded Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Angels last November for Newcomb, the 15th overall pick in the 2014 draft. Given a full year at Double-A, he led the SL with 152 strikeouts and placed second with a .224 opponent average. Erratic control translated into 71 walks, second-most in the league. While Newcomb's control grades as below-average, he isn't wild so much as he falls out of his delivery at times, inhibiting his ability to get back into counts or put batters away. He sits 92-93 mph and dials his fastball up to 95, and opposing batters struggle to pick up the ball out of his hand. A broad-shouldered, 6-foot-5 lefthander with an easy motion, he throws deceptively hard and hides the ball until the last instant, which makes him difficult to hit and almost impossible to take deep. He allowed just four home runs in 2016, for a rate per nine innings (0.26) that led all league qualifiers. Newcomb misses bats with a tight, high-spin curveball that plays as plus with upper-70s velocity. His mid-80s changeup has improved to solid-average in pro ball, though it doesn't feature as much action as his fastball or curveball.
• 
  Ranked California League #1 prospect in 2015
  The 15th overall pick in 2014, Newcomb had no trouble climbing from low Class A Burlington to Double-A Arkansas in 2015, his full-season debut. Along the way he made 13 starts at Inland Empire, ranking among the Cal League leaders with 2.47 ERA and 84 strikeouts during his two months in the circuit. Opposing Cal League managers got in the habit of sitting their lefty bats when Newcomb started. The imposing southpaw operates comfortably in the low 90s with his lively fastball and can dial it up to 99 mph. He had a few rocky outings soon after he arrived, in part because he worried too much about pacing himself, but he got on track again once he started airing the ball out more. Newcomb loves to use his swing-and-miss curveball, but his coaches at Inland forced him to use his changeup more. It's still a work-in-progress, but manager Denny Hocking recalls an outing where Newcomb started a game by going nine up, nine down, using strictly a fastball-changeup mix. About the only trouble Newcomb encountered came from inconsistent fastball command, for he walked 4.5 batters per nine innings.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #78 prospect in 2017
• Ranked Baseball America's #24 prospect in 2016
• Ranked Baseball America's #70 prospect in 2015

• December, 2016 Scouting Report
  Background: The 15th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Newcomb was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Andrelton Simmons to the Angels after the 2015 campaign. A two-sport standout in high school prior to pitching at Hartford, he appeared in the Futures Game during his lone season with the Angels before leading the Double-A Southern League with 152 strikeouts and ranking second with a .224 opponent average in 2016. Scouting Report: Newcomb is a power pitcher who improved the consistency of his delivery over the course of the 2016 season. His fastball ranges from 90-95 mph but sits at 92-93 and tends to jump out of his hand due to his ability to hide the ball until he releases it. He records many of his strikeouts with a hard, tight curveball that possesses plus spin and sits at 77-78 mph. Newcomb's mid-80s changeup is at least a solid-average offering but lacks late movement. He tends to lose his rhythm and focus on occasion, helping produce his below-average control, and he needs to get more aggressive with his pitch selection when he's ahead in the count.
  
  The Future: Newcomb has the broad-shouldered frame and strength to be a workhorse in a big league rotation--if he throws enough strikes. He is ready for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2017 and should make his major league debut at some point during the season.