The Angels finally got a chance to draft in the first half of the first round and their reward was Sean Newcomb. With advanced skills and a high ceiling, that is a reward that the Angels can build around for years to come.
Sean Newcomb
10 words or less: Angels shiny new prospect has the stuff to dominate.
Position: SP Born: 6/12/1993
Bats: L Throws: L
Height: 6’5″ Weight: 240
2014 Rank: unranked
2014 Season Stats
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PITCHING
Fastball – A. I love Newcomb’s approach on the mound, especially as a collegiate lefty. Most times, southpaws that don’t come out of the draft in high school just don’t have a ton of upside. Some grow in college and are drafted eventually, but how frequently will you find some small school senior that can pound the zone at 95 with regularity? Newcomb will occasionally dip as low as 92-93, but for the most part, his fastballs hover right at 94-95. As long as Newcomb keeps the ball down in the zone, I see no reason why minor leaguers will be able to touch him.
Off-speed Pitches – B. Newcomb currently has what is considered a “plus” slider, above average change up and a decent curve. He can use all three and in fact hasn’t shown any fear in throwing them thus far.
Control – D. Newcomb’s competition in the American East conference wasn’t exactly what anyone would consider fierce. Truth is, he never really needed to pound the strike zone that much, those kids weren’t going to connect anyway. This became apparent when he signed with the Angels and immediately had trouble keeping everything in the zone.
Command – F. Forget about command for the moment. Newcomb isn’t exactly raw, but he is just encountering top notch baseball instruction for the first time in his life. It’s probably going to take a little bit before it all clicks for him. I’d worry more about keeping the ball in strike zone for now before he decides to get fine and thread the needle with some of his pitches.
Mechanics – B. Sean’s mechanics seem just alright to me. He may be athletic, but he looks really stiff out there brining it to the plate and it just seems like he’s one good gust of wind away from falling over. If it works for him great, but I think I’d like to see him loosen up more and find a consistent landing spot.
OVERALL
Performance – B. Sean Newcomb wasn’t great in the minors this year, but he was great in college, was a 2nd team All-American, was drafted and signed for big money from the Angels. Truth be told, they really didn’t think he’d make it down to them. Anyhow, despite a rocky performance in A ball, there was one game, his final game of the season, where you could just see what he brings to the table. My goodness. Four innings, 2 hits, no walks, 10 STRIKEOUTS. That’s right, 10 K’s in only four innings. He looked just plain mean on the mound, angry almost. He pumped his fastball in 95-97 and changed eye levels on the batters, which didn’t seem to matter much, they weren’t making contact. He was so good, I’m not even sure he threw more than five off-speed pitches. The opposition knew what was coming, they just couldn’t do anything about it.
Projection – A. And that’s the sort of upside Newcomb has. It’s possible that he can grow into a LHP that sits in the mid-90’s, but can get you out just as easily with his change up, slider or curve as he can with his fastball. Almost seems unfair. He’s drawn comparisons to Jon Lester and those actually aren’t unfounded. He has the same build and is left-handed, their off-speed stuff is probably of similar quality, except Newcomb throws harder. I feel like he can slot anywhere between an ace or a mid-rotation starter.
Estimated Time of Arrival – 2017/18. Most collegiate pitchers shouldn’t need more than a couple of years to climb up the majors if they have the talent, but we must keep in mind that despite being a collegiate pitcher, it isn’t as if Newcomb was playing in the PAC-12 or SEC. There’s some adjustment that needs to be made, not only to the quality of his competition but also to what he needs to do to succeed. He should head to the Cal League this year, then AA for 2016. Sometime in 2017/18 he’ll be a major leaguer, probably around age 24.
Grade as a Prospect – A-. Collegiate lefty, first round, hard fastball, good assortment of off-speed pitches, size and strength to pitch in the front of a rotation? Yeah, Newcomb’s worthy of being a top prospect and the A grade I’m giving him. It might take him a little while to put it all together, but once he does he may be unstoppable.
2014 in Review*
Last offseason, the Angels made a big show of their unwillingness to sign a big free agent that caused them to forfeit their 2014 first round draft pick. They hadn’t had a first rounder in years and desperately wanted to get one in the very deep 2014 draft.
That stance paid off in a big way when Sean Newcomb fell right into their laps. As one of the top college pitchers, he was a consensus top 10 pick, but somehow slid to #15 where the Angels gleefully scooped him up. As one of the most advanced arms in the draft, the Angels had their wish fulfilled by finally landing a high ceiling prospect and one that should reach the majors quickly.
Some speculated that Newcomb would be on of the first players from his draft class to reach the majors, which might still happen, but his brief showing in the minors might be reason to temped that enthusiasm. Newcomb had some impressive flashes but also some hiccups. Nobody is losing sleep over a spotty 14.2 innings worth of work from a guy jumping from a lesser college conference to Low-A ball, but it is clear that Newcomb does have plenty of things to work on before he makes it to The Show.
Looking Ahead*
Sean Newcomb was originally the top prospect in the Angels system and had been since the day he was drafted. It was only the addition of Andrew Heaney that knocked him down a spot. This time next year, he almost certainly will be the top prospect (assuming Heaney graduates to the majors) and a top 100 prospect in all of baseball. Big lefties that throw in the mid-nineties with movement just don’t grow on trees.
Expect Newcomb to return to Burlington at least to start the season. It would be a real upset if he finished the year though. He has some things to work on, but they are more refining type of things, not complete overhaul type of things. He’s on the fast track to be a fixture in the Angels rotation as soon as 2017.
*As we do every year, the scouting reports and grades are provided by Scotty Allen while Garrett Wilson provides the 2014 in Review and Looking Ahead sections.
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