7/26 MINORS THREAD FINAL: Povse, Cumberland are Monsters

[rico43]

Newcomb "Still Adjusting"

From MILB
Of all Atlanta Braves' trades in recent years, sending Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Los Angeles Angels may have been the one most questioned by fans. Left-hander Sean Newcomb (http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=656794#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL), the No. 15 overall pick in the 2015 Draft, was the prime return from the deal, and that meant heightened expectations for the pitcher.
"You definitely feel pressure when you are part of a trade like that," Newcomb said. "It made the adjustment a little harder, and I feel that I'm still adjusting."
Installed as Atlanta's new No. 1 pitching prospect, the New England native struggled with his control in two Grapefruit League outings for Atlanta, and it hasn't been smooth sailing with Double-A Mississippi either. The Braves, though, believe in the burly, 6-foot-5 former University of Hartford pitcher. You don't find many potential left-handed starters who can throw in the high-90s and have a Major League curveball and promising changeup.
"We're very happy with Sean," Braves general manager John Coppolella said. "He's made a lot of progress. There is still room to go. We are working with him on being more consistent. I don't know if he is ever going to be perfect, but there is a lot of upside with Sean."
To realize his full potential, Newcomb has to improve his control -- and not just by a little bit. Newcomb, who turned 23 on June 12, has 101 strikeouts in 100 1/3 innings over his first 20 starts for Mississippi. That was the good news. He also walked 57 -- a main reason for his 5-7 record and 4.57 ERA.
"If I can't command my fastball, I can't have success with my other pitches," Newcomb said. "And if I keep missing with my curve and change, my fastball isn't as successful."
Newcomb didn't pitch a lot of innings in high school or in his three seasons at Hartford, meaning he is behind where most former college pitchers would be.
"I'm playing catch-up," he said. "I've been reminded of that."
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TUESDAY'S MINOR LEAGUE RESULTS

CLASS AAA

Gwinnett 11, Indianapolis 2

WP: Ellis (2-4) 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 7 K, HBP
Cunniff 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Ramirez 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Wooten 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Rojas 2-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Kazmar 1-4, HR (3rd), 3 RBI
Bonifacio 2-3, 3 RBI
Ruiz 1-4, 2B, R

CLASS AA

Mississippi 4, Birmingham 0

WP: Povse (3-0) 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Minter 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Dirks 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Peterson 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Albies 1-4, RBI, SB
Schrader 1-4, HR (10th), 3 RBI
Meneses 1-3, 2B, R
Swanson 0-3, BB

ADVANCED CLASS A

Carolina 8, Myrtle Beach 6

SP: Franco 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
WP: McLaughlin (4-4) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Pfeifer 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Portuondo (Save, 1) 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Edgerton 4-4, HR (4th), 4 RBI
Curcio 2-3, 3B, 3 R, 2 BB
Valenzuela 2-5, R, RBI
Mendez 3-5, 2B, R

CLASS A

Rome 6, West Viriginia 5

WP: Toussaint (3-7) 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER(1R), 2 BB, 4 K
Graham 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Johnson-Mullins 0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Watts (Save, 2) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Didder 0-3, R, BB, HBP
Riley 2-3, 2 R, HR (9th), 3 RBI
Ellison 1-3, RBI, SB
Morales 1-3, RBI, SB

SHORT-SEASON

GCL Pirates 2, GCL Braves 1

SP: Simmons 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (rehab)
LP: Wilson (1-1) 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Greene 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (rehab)
Mejia 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Cruz 1-4 2B
Benson 2-3
Ventura 0-4
Michel 1-4 (GCL debut)
Schumpert 0-4, 3 K

-----------

Danville 10, Johnson City 8

SP: Stantion 2.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER(7R), 1 BB, 0 K
Rice 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
WP: Hyssong 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Lara 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Matos (Save, 1) 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

Cumberland 3-5, 2 2B, HR (3rd), 6 RBI
Wilson 2-4, 3 R, 2 RBI
Mooney 2-3, 2B, 3 R
O'Malley 1-4, 2B, RBI
Gonzalez 2-4
James 1-5, RBI

------------

DSL Nationals 7, DSL Braves 3

LP: Julian (0-6) 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Sepulveda 3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Joaquin 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Vasquez 2-4, 2B, R
Bermudez 2-5
Ramos 1-5, RBI
J.C. Encarnacion 1-1
Y. Lopez 0-5, 5 K



-----------

MOVES: Raysheandall Michel moved from DSL to GCL

[bravesfanMatt]

I think Touki and Ellis will bounce back and have good games. I know Touki had an insane K rate last game, but I think he puts up a better more even game this time around.

[bravesfanMatt]

good to see Shae with back to back scoreless rehab stints. Hope he can just take his time and build the arm back correctly. WE DON'T NEED YOU SIMMONS.. just take your time.

[Enscheff]

Touki prediction: 5 IP, 7 Ks, 4 BBs

[UNCBlue012]

Touki: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

[Tapate50]

Touki: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

If he keeps this up, he is probably going to be a top 50 prospect at seasons end.

[50PoundHead]

Good day for Riley. 3/3 with his 9th HR. Scored 2, drove in 3.

[UNCBlue012]

If he keeps this up, he is probably going to be a top 50 prospect at seasons end. I still cannot believe we got him for Phil Gosselin. Dude is just so average and Touki's upside is tremendous. I know there was more to it, but man.

[Preacher]

Good day for Riley. 3/3 with his 9th HR. Scored 2, drove in 3.

Good to see.

Nothing more rare in our system than 'power bats' -- Riley is one of the few that might be able to fill that need for us internally.

[rico43]

Might be easy to miss, so we want to mention it here:

Raysheandall Michel, the outfielder from Curacao, has been promoted from the DSL to the GCL and debuted today
There have been two 17 year olds make their pro debut for the DSL team this week; makes me hope against hope than Maitan would get some live pitching ABs this year.

[IslandBrave]

Might be easy to miss, so we want to mention it here:

Raysheandall Michel, the outfielder from Curacao, has been promoted from the DSL to the GCL and debuted today
There have been two 17 year olds make their pro debut for the DSL team this week; makes me hope against hope than Maitan would get some live pitching ABs this year.

Maitan signed a 2017 contract. He can't play until next year.

[zbhargrove]

Might be easy to miss, so we want to mention it here:

Raysheandall Michel, the outfielder from Curacao, has been promoted from the DSL to the GCL and debuted today
There have been two 17 year olds make their pro debut for the DSL team this week; makes me hope against hope than Maitan would get some live pitching ABs this year.

Yah... Not possible. Can't legally play this year

[smootness]

Touki is definitely starting to put it together. I'm hoping he can eventually get to AA next year and cut his BB rate down to at least 4.

[striker42]

I still wonder if Touki wont eventually end up in the pen. I wont put starting past him just wonder if the two overpowering pitches and control issues might mean he ends up as a late inning reliever.

[auyushu]

I still wonder if Touki wont eventually end up in the pen. I wont put starting past him just wonder if the two overpowering pitches and control issues might mean he ends up as a late inning reliever.

You could say that for Touki, Newcomb, and Sims really. Hopefully at least one of them can come around an give us a TOR starter. If we can get one TOR starter and one elite reliever out of those three it would be a huge success.

[mfree80]

I still wonder if Touki wont eventually end up in the pen. I wont put starting past him just wonder if the two overpowering pitches and control issues might mean he ends up as a late inning reliever.

Interesting how we create a narrative and then stick with it no matter what happens afterward.

Touki started out with control problems, but seems to have put them behind him, but the control problems narrative hangs on. Just like Mallex and being caught stealing. He struggled at the beginning with a rate around 50%. At the time of his injury, he had, I believe stolen 17 or 18 straight without being caught, but someone the other day declared him to be a poor baserunner because he gets a lot of CS.

I am not disputing what the numbers say at this point, but pointing out that guys figure it out and get better all the time, especially young guys. We need to sometimes look past the numbers and see what is really happening here, or we might miss opportunities.

These guys are getting better. Don't relegate them to B level status yet.

[bravescountry]

If he keeps this up, he is probably going to be a top 50 prospect at seasons end.

tbh... with his control struggles, I'd be happy if he's even in the top 100 lists in seasons end... I think he will be in it, but with draft prospects and intl prospects, and the prospects doing very well... there's a lot of talent that will be added.

[smootness]

tbh... with his control struggles, I'd be happy if he's even in the top 100 lists in seasons end... I think he will be in it, but with draft prospects and intl prospects, and the prospects doing very well... there's a lot of talent that will be added.

While I do think it's fair to say Touki has struggled with his control, to mfree's point, Touki's BB rate this year is 5.1/9. Giolito, top 10 prospect, was at 4.3 before being called up. Tyler Glasnow, top 10 prospect, was at 4.9. And Alex Reyes, top 10 prospect, is at 4.5.

[zbhargrove]

I still wonder if Touki wont eventually end up in the pen. I wont put starting past him just wonder if the two overpowering pitches and control issues might mean he ends up as a late inning reliever.

With the exception of his last start he's had much better control

[bravesfanMatt]

I love starts like this for touki. Much more even numbers. Pitched to contact. He now knows he can k a bunch of guys or just pitch and get them out.

Also Gwinnett is having an offensive out burst. That Rojas guy is doing well lately. I enjoyed watching him when Mississippi came through bham.

[bravesfanMatt]

Ugh. Ellis with a good start outside of no control. 5 walks in 5 innings and a bit by pitch.

[Hudson2]

Riley has been on a tear lately. If he ends the season on a good note with around 14 homers or so he should be a top 100 prospect. He could really make the offensive side of our minors start to look up.

[bravesfanMatt]

See HO still being a waste of air.

[auyushu]

Riley has been on a tear lately. If he ends the season on a good note with around 14 homers or so he should be a top 100 prospect. He could really make the offensive side of our minors start to look up.

I think the key for him will be keeping that contact rate up and lowering his strikeouts. He's done a much better job of that in the second half (only 23 Ks in his last 110 ABs) and his stats have been awesome during those 110 ABs because of it. I'm not sure if he'll pop into any top 100 lists simply because most the prospect sites seem to have issues with his batspeed, but if he keeps making contact like he has in his last 110 ABs the rest of the way who cares what the prospect sites think really.

[KB21]

Brett Cumberland is red hot over his last 9 games. He has hit 3 home runs and is slugging over .500 during that time. It will be interesting to see if the Braves keep Lucas Herbert at Low A and jump Cumberland to High A next year.

I think the big club has some talent that is within a year to year and a half of making it. Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, Dustin Peterson, Rio Ruiz, and Brett Cumberland.

[Garmel]

Dustin Peterson's 15 game hitting streak is over. He also had a 7 game multi-hit streak working before tonight.

[Deester11]

Dustin Peterson's 15 game hitting streak is over. He also had a 7 game multi-hit streak working before tonight. 5th OF'er at best.

[KB21]

Cumberland is now 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a home run, and 6 RBIs tonight.

[msstate7]

Cumberland is now 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a home run, and 6 RBIs tonight.

Wonder how his defense/framing has been so far

[auyushu]

Wonder how his defense/framing has been so far

Curious as well on that, since that seems to have been the major knock in his scouting reports. Hopefully he can develop and be average there at least.

[rico43]

I'm charged up with how easily Povse has adapted to AAA. After seeing so many struggle to stay, he has become even more dominant on a not-so-great team.

[rico43]

FYI, Cumberland now has 22 RBIs in his first 21 games.

[IslandBrave]

I'm charged up with how easily Povse has adapted to AAA. After seeing so many struggle to stay, he has become even more dominant on a not-so-great team.

Agree, but he's in AA.

[bravesfanMatt]

Agree, but he's in AA.

And Mississippi is a great team. One thing about Povse is his pitch count. When he is on he is throwing strikes. He pitched 6 tonight but only three 77 pitches. (54 strikes).

[Tapate50]

Cumberland is now 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a home run, and 6 RBIs tonight.

Thats in the zone. Like to see that early...sure beats initial struggles.

He has a little time to make some noise, ala Riley last year.

[msstate7]

Mel Rojas jr at Gwinnett (30 games)...

.314/.381/.543

He's 26. Would love to see him get a shot in LF soon

[KB21]

Wonder how his defense/framing has been so far

Hunter Belinsky from BA mentioned last night that Cumberland was not calling pitches. I'm not sure if this is common among Braves catchers in the low minors or not.

[striker42]

Interesting how we create a narrative and then stick with it no matter what happens afterward.

Touki started out with control problems, but seems to have put them behind him, but the control problems narrative hangs on. Just like Mallex and being caught stealing. He struggled at the beginning with a rate around 50%. At the time of his injury, he had, I believe stolen 17 or 18 straight without being caught, but someone the other day declared him to be a poor baserunner because he gets a lot of CS.

I am not disputing what the numbers say at this point, but pointing out that guys figure it out and get better all the time, especially young guys. We need to sometimes look past the numbers and see what is really happening here, or we might miss opportunities.

These guys are getting better. Don't relegate them to B level status yet.

Here's Touki's BB/9 by month:

April- 5.74
May- 5.93
June- 3.41
July- 5.19

Touki flashed better control in June but I'd stop short of saying he's put his control problems behind him. A BB/9 of 3.41 in the majors would rate well below average. But he's still young and reports have been that he has a lot of mechanical issues leading to bad command that we're working on fixing so there's still a good chance the command will improve.

Also, I'm not slotting him as future pen piece and leaving him there. The pen is a fall back option if he's not going to be able to make it as a starter. I just get the feeling from him that he might eventually be best suited as a reliever.

The comparison I want to make is Tom Gordon. Gordon came up as a starter and started at least 10 games in 9 seasons. But his BB rate was consistently high and he wasn't more than a mediocre starter. But when he was shifted to the pen fulltime he became an excellent reliever. Like Touki, Gordon made his living with a good fastball and devastating curve.

And I don't think Touki to the pen is relegating him to B status. With his stuff if he improves his command even a little he could be an elite closer. I'd be thrilled if Touki becomes a top notch closer.

[KB21]

I saw where Cumberland's SLG in the last 9 games is .689 -- 9 of his 12 hits in the last 9 games are for extra bases.

[Tapate50]

Just sifted through mlbpipeline for our top 30 for the first time in a while. I know it isn't in depth as some of the other services, but they do offer some cool insight about our players and what happens to them and why. For instance, I had no idea Sanchez had conditioning\body issues last year. Or that Sims started squaring up his delivery more at the end of last year after working with one of his pitching coaches that he liked.

Just little tidbits that aren't in the box score.

[Tapate50]

Mel Rojas jr at Gwinnett (30 games)...

.314/.381/.543

He's 26. Would love to see him get a shot in LF soon

Those are great numbers, and honestly what do we have to lose?

[nsacpi]

Those are great numbers, and honestly what do we have to lose?

Someone asked the question on another thread, who is Francoeur blocking that might deserve a look. Rojas is probably the best answer to that question.

[msstate7]

Someone asked the question on another thread, who is Francoeur blocking that might deserve a look. Rojas is probably the best answer to that question.

I'm hopeful that frenchy's playing time is about to take a major hit once the deadline passes

[DaneHill]

758305919616909313

[rico43]

Agree, but he's in AA.

What's an "A" between friends?

[zbhargrove]

Rojas has always had the raw talent. Give him a shot... Maybe we find lightning in a bottle

[KB21]

Looking at some other numbers on players, I really like the in game power surge that Braxton Davidson has shown since June 1st. Since that date, Braxton has hit .241/.380/.463 with 7 HR, 11 2B, and 2 3B. He has a .222 ISO and a 137 wRC+. He still has a lot to work on. It's mainly his contact rate. While he has seen a power surge, he still strikes out 33.3% of the time. This is why he has a .241 AVG with a .360 BABIP. It's way too early to give up on the kid. He just turned 20 years of age, so there is still plenty of time for him to figure out his contact issues. The power surge is a good sign for him. That's usually the last thing that comes, so he may never fix his contact issues. Like I said though, it is too soon to give up on him.

Austin Riley over that same span of time has slashed .290/.335/.497 with 6 HR, 13 2B, and 2 3B with a .207 ISO and 132 wRC+. He has decreased his strike out rate to 23.2% of the time. He has a .350 BABIP.

With Davidson, Riley, and Cumberland, the Braves may have some middle of the order bats that could develop into something. I'm big on Riley's upside more than Davidson's, but the potential for both is there.

[Enscheff]

Starting to get a little worried about Swanson. Reading some chatter that he is being viewed more as a solid average MLB SS than the star we were all so excited to get. The DBacks saw the same thing and that's why they were willing to part with him.

Hopefully it's just his first full pro season wearing on him.

[Preacher]

Anybody know what Yepez's injury is and how long he's out for? He's an intriguing bat.

[Preacher]

Starting to get a little worried about Swanson. Reading some chatter that he is being viewed more as a solid average MLB SS than the star we were all so excited to get. The DBacks saw the same thing and that's why they were willing to part with him.

Hopefully it's just his first full pro season wearing on him.

he certainly isn't owning AA the way you'd expect from a highly thought of college bat.

[thewupk]

Starting to get a little worried about Swanson. Reading some chatter that he is being viewed more as a solid average MLB SS than the star we were all so excited to get. The DBacks saw the same thing and that's why they were willing to part with him.

Hopefully it's just his first full pro season wearing on him.

Swanson would have to be pretty horrible with the bat to be an average SS.

[zbhargrove]

he certainly isn't owning AA the way you'd expect from a highly thought of college bat.

I will only get worried if he starts struggling next year. He has a great approach and all the tools.

[Enscheff]

Swanson would have to be pretty horrible with the bat to be an average SS.

Honestly, he strikes me as a poor man's Alan Trammell. Couple that with a poor man's Jose Altuve at 2B and the Braves will still be in good shape up the middle.