Ever since fully kicking off their rebuild in the winter, the Atlanta Braves have stockpiled young arms to help take the organization into the future. That trend continued Thursday, when the Braves traded Andrelton Simmons to the Los Angeles Angels.
The team announced it received Erick Aybar, Chris Ellis and Sean Newcomb in return for the two-time Gold Glove winner. Aybar will contribute the most right away, but Newcomb could emerge as the best piece Atlanta acquired in the deal.
The Angels have one of the worst farm systems in the league, but Newcomb was widely considered to be the team's most promising prospect in the minors after Andrew Heaney's promotion to the big leagues. MLB.com considers him the 19th-best prospect in baseball.
Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times noted the Angels' motivations have changed under new general manager Billy Eppler:
Newcomb pitched 136 innings in High-A, Single-A and Double-A in 2015. He went 9-3 in 27 starts across the three levels with a 2.38 earned run average. He also averaged 11.1 strikeouts, five walks and 6.4 hits per nine innings, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
MLB.com provided a brief scouting report on Newcomb in January:
In Baseball Prospectus' organizational rankings ahead of the 2015 season, Nick J. Faleris and the BP staff projected Newcomb as a No. 3 or No. 4 starter in MLB and highlighted his fastball and slider as the two best pitches in his repertoire.
MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez spoke to an MLB scout who is bullish on Newcomb's potential:
FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel analyzed Newcomb's game in March and also believes the 22-year-old lefty possesses a high ceiling:
His off-speed stuff plays more to a 55 on a consistent basis, but both the slider and changeup flash plus at times, though usually not in the same start. Newcomb has good control, feel for sequence and a repeatable delivery, but [he's] still working on the finer points of pitching and consistency with command and crispness to his stuff. The raw elements are here for an ace if Newcomb can make all the necessary adjustments and stay healthy.
Braves team president John Hart and general manager John Coppolella have made their priorities clear with the way in which they're molding the team going forward.
Highly regarded pitchers Matt Wisler and Max Fried were the centerpieces of the Craig Kimbrel and Justin Upton trades, and Atlanta used 12 of its first 14 picks in the 2015 draft on pitchers, including Kolby Allard and Michael Soroka in the first round.
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan argued depth could be a major asset for the Braves:
Joel Sherman of the New York Post added some of the team's pitching surplus could be packaged together down the road to address other issues on the roster:
As always, the Braves are assuming some risk by trading away Simmons—who is arguably the best defensive shortstop in baseball and has a relatively reasonable contract. The deal's success or failure will hinge on how well Newcomb and Ellis work out for Atlanta, and prospects are never guaranteed to deliver.
If he can fulfill just 85 percent to 90 percent of his potential, Newcomb will become a steady member of the Braves starting rotation and help usher in a new era for the franchise as it moves into SunTrust Park in 2017.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments