Middleboro’s Newcomb makes pitch for All-Star Game

With the all-star teams due to be announced on Sunday night, Middleboro High School product Sean Newcomb has presented a compelling case for himself this season with the Atlanta Braves. The 25-year-old lefthander is 8-3 with an earned run average of 3.10 on the year.

He’s made his pitch.

Through 17 starts this season, Sean Newcomb has compiled an 8-3 record with an earned run average of 3.10 for the National League East Division-leading Atlanta Braves.

Which begs the question: Has the Middleboro High School product done enough to earn a berth in the July 17 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.?

That question will be answered when ESPN presents its annual all-star selection show at 7 o’clock Sunday night (Newcomb is scheduled to make his next start earlier that day in Milwaukee).

“It’s not something I try to worry about,” Newcomb, who developed into a first-round draft pick at the University of Hartford, told the Hartford Courant when asked about a potential all-star berth last Monday during a trip that brought the Braves to Yankee Stadium. “It’d be a cool honor, if things work out in my favor. If not, it’s an honor just to be mentioned.”

The 6-foot-5 lefthander who once stood tall on the mound at Middleboro’s Peirce Playground, earning Enterprise Player of the Year as a senior with the Sachems in 2011, has certainly earned the honor of being in the discussion.

Fact is, Newcomb has presented a compelling argument for himself.

Heading into Friday's games, Newcomb’s eight wins were tied for seventh in the National League. His 3.10 ERA ranked ninth among the league’s starting pitchers. He’s averaging nearly one strikeout per inning (92 in 95 2/3 innings).

The 25-year-old’s rise in this, the first season he opened in the bigs, has been meteoric.

“You can see he’s gotten stronger and stronger with every year,” long-time Middleboro High School coach Bill Lawrence said Thursday, “and his confidence has grown.”

Recalled by Atlanta from Triple-A Gwinnett in June of 2017, Newcomb went 4-9 with a 4.32 ERA in 19 starts with 108 strikeouts in 100 innings for the Braves last season, but he often paid for the 57 walks he issued in that time.

Reporting to spring training this year, Newcomb went out and nailed down a spot in the Braves’ season-opening rotation.

Chosen by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with the 15th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Newcomb came to the Braves in November of 2015 as part of a five-player deal that saw three-time Gold Glove-winning shortstop Andrelton Simmons the central piece in the package that went to L.A.

Newcomb rose in the Braves' system from Double-A Mississippi in the Southern League (8-7 with a 3.86 ERA in 2016) to Gwinnett (3-3, 2.97 when he got the call up last season) to Atlanta.

With few exceptions this year – one of them being a May 26 Fenway Park homecoming when wildness (four walks) plagued him and led to him being lifted after three innings in a game in which he got no decision in what was ultimately an 8-6 Braves loss in front of a large contingent of family and friends (including his high school coach) in Boston – Newcomb has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season.

“Fenway Park’s an awesome place to watch a game, anyway,” said Lawrence, “but to see someone you coached playing there, standing on the mound pitching there was unbelievable.”

Beyond that, Lawrence has kept in touch with his former pitcher, sending him texts on a regular basis (“about once a week; he’s focused so I keep it short, but I want to keep letting him know how proud we are of him”) while keeping an eye on him with frequent trips to a local establishment that has the Major League Baseball package.

“The Jake n’ Joes (Sports Grille) in Foxboro has the package,” said Lawrence. “The manager sees me coming and puts the game on.”

Unfortunately, control issues (five walks) and the long ball (home runs by Aaron Hicks and Kyle Higashioka) plagued him in his most recent outing, as he got roughed up for five runs in a career-short 2 2/3-inning stint that resulted in him absorbing an 8-5 loss at Yankee Stadium last Tuesday night.

Those instances have been rare, though, as Newcomb has gone 5 1/3 innings or more 14 times. A 7-0 win over the New York Mets on May 2 saw him throw two-hit ball, striking out eight while walking only one. He’s thrown six innings of shutout ball on five other occasions.

“He had a rough outing in New York,” Lawrence acknowledged, “but he’s been ahead in a few games and the bullpen hasn’t supported him, so he could have two or three more wins. As it is, there aren’t many better record-wise.”

But will it all be enough to earn an all-star berth?

Bursting upon the scene the way he has, Newcomb faces a disadvantage in that he lacks the reputation of some of the more established pitchers who may be worthy of all-star consideration. His obstacles also include teammate Mike Foltynewicz, whose 6-4 record heading into his start against the Brewers on Friday night might not have been anything out of the ordinary but whose 2.02 ERA was third in all of baseball.

Players select five starters and three relievers to each all-star team, with the commissioner’s office adding four more pitchers per league for staffs of 12 each representing the American and National Leagues.

“I hope Sean (gets selected),” said Lawrence, “but if he doesn’t I would hope his manager (Brian Snitker) and teammates would acknowledge that he’s had a great year and he came that close. Knowing Sean the way I do, if he doesn’t make it, it won’t be a big deal to him.”