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, 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

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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

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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



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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.