re: Track the Prospects - July/August

I cant reserve it anymore. #TeamCallUpAcuna

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For you posters who follow the minor league teams closely, are any of the really good pitching prospects (Allard, Soroka, Wentz, etc...) close or are they gonna be more in the 2019 range?

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Soroka, Gohara and Allard will get a shot next year to make the OD roster and probably a good chance they come up at some point. Wright could shoot through the minor leagues. Toussaint, kind of a wild card.

Anderson, Wentz, Wilson probably another full year in the minors (start in AA I'd guess, skip A+). They are basically a year behind Allard and Soroka.

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Folty
Teheran
Dickey
Newcomb
Soroka

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I like this. Certainly don't mind keeping Dickey around. He's still almost unhittable on days where his knuckleball is dancing like it was yesterday.

Acuna just a hit line drive that landed in the bullpen. #18.

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Almost all of our top 20 prospects have had average to very good years. Nobody has flopped. Pretty nuts considering a lot of them are already at AA/AAA/MLB levels.

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Do you consider Newcomb one of these guys? He's been battered since the Houston series and HAS to get his walks under control. I still think there's potential there but he seems far more likely to flop than not given his control issues.

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Do you consider Newcomb one of these guys? He's been battered since the Houston series and HAS to get his walks under control. I still think there's potential there but he seems far more likely to flop than not given his control issues

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Yes, and he has had a good year.

AAA
2.97 ERA, 11.6 K/9, 5.2 BB/9,

MLB
4.45 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 7 of 12 Quality Starts

Clearly he has to get the walks down or he will never reach his #2/#3 ceiling, but he had a very good year in AAA and has pitched relatively well in Atlanta.

If you take out the Dodger/Astros/Cubs games, his stats against everybody else are :

8 starts (vs NYM, vs MIA, vs SF, @ SD, @ WSH, @ PHI, vs PHI, @ COL)
45 1/3 IP
5 2/3 average IP per start
2.78 ERA
9.1 K/9
4.0 BB/9
6.8 H/9
~1.20 WHIP

Now, you can't "take those games out", but considering the Dodgers and Astros are right now 2 of the best offensive teams of the last 25 years and the Cubs were hitting their stride again, I think this shows that he has been a pretty solid arm in the MLB rotation since he came up. He has faults, mainly the walks, but considering he is a rookie I'm very happy with his output so far.

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Newcomb is never going to magically stop walking people. He is who he is imo as a starter.

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Probably, but I also think there is a chance he has a gradual control improvement ala Folty. Nothing drastic, but it happens. I do agree he's clearly not going to go to 2 BB per 9 or anything. He's probably a #3/4 at best in a solid rotation, which would be fine.