Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis are the two Angels pitchers headed to the Atlanta Braves as part of the Andrelton Simmons trade. They, along with Erick Aybar and some cash, are going to Atlanta for the two-time Gold Glove shortstop.
The Angels are getting a sure thing at shortstop with Simmons’ glove, but what’s not as certain is what they are giving up.
Let’s take a look at the prospects in the trade.
Sean Newcomb: Newcomb was a first-round pick by the Angels in 2014 and their top pitching prospect. Drafted out of Hartford where he went 13-6 with a 2.35 ERA, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound southpaw has performed well in the minors. He has gone 9-4 with a 2.74 ERA across all his stops combined. His strikeouts per nine innings has been over 11, which is a very strong number, but there is one area of serious concern: his walks total.
Newcomb has averaged nearly five walks per nine innings in his two minor league seasons. That was after averaging over four per nine innings in college. The lack of control has some scouts worried:
Here's more from an AL evaluator on Sean Newcomb, the top prospect the Braves got: "Big arm, wild as hell." #'s: https://t.co/2ODY3L0WnL
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 12, 2015
AL scout on Simmons for Aybar/Newcomb: "Newcomb will always be a high-pitch-count starter who will end up in the pen." No quality strikes.
— Barry Svrluga (@barrysvrluga) November 13, 2015
However another scout likes him as a potential No. 2 starter:
Scout on Sean Newcomb: #2 guy in rotation, close to MLB, chance to keep getting better. "His walk total will drop. He is around the plate."
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) November 13, 2015
Newcomb throws in the low-90s and has an easy, repeatable motion which should treat him well in the longrun. He throws a slow curve and also gets some good sink on his changeup. His biggest concern is whether or not he can consistently hit his spots.
Here is video of Sean Newcomb:
Chris Ellis: Ellis was a third-round pick by the Angels in 2014 out of Ole Miss. He went 15-5 with a 2.98 ERA in three seasons at college, posting less than a 2:1 strikeouts to walk ratio. He made nine appearances in rookie ball in 2014 but pitched a full season in the minors in 2015. He went 11-9 with a 3.90 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 140.2 innings split between high-A and double-A.
At 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, Ellis features a big fastball, curveball and changeup. He comes mostly over the top in his delivery and generates a lot of whip action with his arm, not using his lower body very much in his delivery:
Control is one of the areas where Ellis needs improvement as he has averaged high walk totals at every level.
A scout thinks he could become a No. 4 starter:
Same scout called Chris Ellis a future No. 4 starter "who will carry some innings."
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) November 13, 2015
Though they gave up a Gold Glove shortstop, the Braves were able to restock with a couple of good pitching prospects in this move. Perhaps Newcomb and Ellis will eventually be bullpen arms, but at least Newcomb appears to be a very strong prospect.
