Angels top prospect Newcomb promoted to Double A

While I was out in San Bernardino last covering Jered Weaver’s rehab start some other big news came down the pipe, as Angels #1 pick in 2014 Sean Newcomb has received the news that he had been promoted to Double A affiliate the Arkansas Travelers. For Newcomb who pitched 20 games this season between low Single A Affiliate Burlington and high Single A the Inland Empire 66’ers, his rapid rise through the Angels minor league system has been an encouraging sign for the team. The Angels have received many trades offers recently and declined them all so far when Newcomb’s name has entered the talks, which looks to be a smart move based on Newcomb’s progress this season.

Newcomb has gone 7-1 thus far this season with 6 of those wins coming for the 66’ers.  Overall Newcomb has a 2.25 ERA in exactly 100 inning with 129 strikeouts.  The only alarming number is that he has walked 52 batters which is very high for the amount of innings he has pitched.  Hopefully Newcomb will continue to work on that for the Travelers the rest of the season. While I was talking to 66’ers manager Denny Hocking about Weaver’s rehab start I also asked him about his thoughts on Newcomb.

“Newcomb made a lot of progress while he was here, he just has to continue to grow and learn how to pitch at a high level,” Hocking said. “He is a great kid and a lot of the players here gravitated toward him, and as he got more comfortable he really opened up.  Sean works really hard and throws the ball well he just needs more experience.”

Will Newcomb be next year’s Andrew Heaney, only time will tell, but so far so good.

Angels 2014 first round draft pick Sean Newcomb (right) shakes hands with center fielder Mike Trout (left) as Angels VP of communications Tim Mead (center) watches. Is Newcomb the next star to come out of the draft for the Angels? Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports