Major League Baseball

Angels prospect Newcomb already drawing comparisons to Lester, Verlander

Published Jun. 5, 2015 4:19 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

The Los Angeles Angels may have a stud in their future in lefty Sean Newcomb. 

Drafted 15th by the Halos in last year's MLB Draft, Newcomb is currently playing for the Angels' Class-A affiliate Inland Empire 66ers - but he probably won't be there very long. 

As Jim Alexander of the Orange County Register pointed out in a new column examining Newcomb's ascent up the ranks, some big names are being bandied about in comparison to the 6'5" Newcomb, among them Jon Lester and Justin Verlander. 

Alexander quotes Matt Wise, Newcomb's current pitching coach as raving about the young pitcher's skills: “His fastball’s outstanding, his curveball’s sharp, his changeup’s swing-and-miss at times. I don't foresee a lot of failure in his future; he's that good. But if it does come his way, I think he'll handle it fine."

Said Denny Hocking, former MLB player and the 66ers' manager: “He’s a lot like what you see in the big leagues, a guy like Verlander or those power arms who throw 92, and then stuff happens and later in the game they throw that 97. He kind of starts to cruise, and then when stuff happens he really tries to dial it up. We’re trying to get him to do that from the first pitch.”

File Sean Newcomb under the 'names to watch' radar, as he seems to be making an impression rather rapidly for the Halos.

(h/t Orange County Register) 

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball