The Altoona Curve have started hitting Kevin Newman – Pirates’ 4th ranked prospect – at the second spot in the order, where the team believes he best fits.
Kevin Newman began the 2017 campaign with the Altoona Curve batting in the leadoff spot.
This was nothing new for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ fourth overall prospect, who logged 155 at-bats at the first batting position in 2016 at the Double-A level. And he performed well there, slashing .310/.371/.406, with 16 walks against 17 strikeouts, good for rates of 9.3 percent and 10.9 percent respectively.
With a batting line like that, it is no surprise that Newman found himself in that familiar spot to start this season. Results have been a bit more mixed, as the shortstop put up a line of .279/.343/.361 from that spot.
But to hear Kevin Newman’s hitting coach Kevin Riggs tell it, the slight drop in production has nothing to do with his new spot in the batting order.
Dropping Down to Prop Up Development
After a win over the Akron Rubber Ducks Sunday, Riggs clued us in to the switch. To hear him tell it, part of it is rooted in trying to spark the Curve offense into some much needed consistency.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”We’re trying to catapult him.”[/perfectpullquote]“We’re just trying to mix it up a bit because we’ve been failing to score runs.” said Riggs. “So, we thought we would look at Pablo [Reyes] in the leadoff spot, to give him [Kevin Newman] some better pitches to hit.”
As the Curve’s manager Michael Ryan told us in pre-season, Double-A baseball is “big boy baseball.” Teams are trying to win games at this level, and though development never takes a backseat at any level, the on-the-field team level result is more emphasized.
However, in Kevin Newman’s case, the chief catalyst for his move to the second spot in the order finds itself in the development category.
“From a coach’s viewpoint, I think that’s where he fits; in that mold.” Riggs told me. “He’s got to learn situational hitting and how to execute a game plan. I think, for his development, it is important for him to hit there.”
Riggs continued. “In an ideal world, he’d be hitting with guys on base and guys behind him who can drive him in. If he has a guy who can get on base ahead of him who is a threat to steal, he should get more pitches to hit.”
“We’re trying to catapult him.”
This all makes perfect sense of course, and Newman has responded in the six games since moving to the second spot. While hitting in front of one of Eastern League’s best hitters – Kevin Kramer – certainly does not hurt, Newman has stepped into a .280/.333/.400 slashline over that time frame. It is from that second spot that Newman has smacked his lone home run to date on the 2017 season, and he has seven hits there in his first 25 at-bats.
The Pittsburgh Pirates clearly prize what they have in Kevin Newman, and they will be doing everything they can to maximize his time with the Double-A Altoona Curve.
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