Newcomb makes most of starting audition vs. Rangers

ARLINGTON -- With this season down to its final few weeks, the A’s want to evaluate potential options for their 2024 rotation. Sean Newcomb is the latest pitcher in line for an opportunity.

Acquired in a Minor League deal with the Giants on Aug. 21, Newcomb had only pitched in relief over his first five games with Oakland. But the left-hander is no stranger to starting. In fact, Newcomb was at one point rated the top pitching prospect in the Braves’ organization and an established member of Atlanta’s rotation from 2017-18.

Since then, Newcomb has bounced around a few different organizations, mostly pitching in relief as he searched for an avenue back into a Major League starting role. Making his first start since Aug. 4, 2022, in Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field, the 30-year-old made the most of his audition, shutting down a potent Texas offense across four scoreless innings.

“Sean did a great job,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “It was kind of reflective of his outings since he’s been here. Had two walks, but really controlled the zone. Mixed in a changeup tonight. That’s a great sign, especially if he’s going to go deeper into games, and he got some outs with it. [I'm] really pleased with the way Sean threw the ball.”

Even back when he was a heralded prospect, Newcomb’s high walk totals raised some cause for concern about his big league future. Once he reached the Majors, there were flashes of brilliance, including a no-hit bid against the Dodgers that fell one out short on July 29, 2018. As time went on, however, bouts with command landed him on the outskirts of a budding Braves rotation.

While Newcomb walked two batters and hit another on Saturday, he did pound the zone for the most part, throwing 41 of his 62 pitches for strikes. Despite having never thrown more than 42 pitches in his previous five relief outings with Oakland, Newcomb seemed to get better as his workload piled up. Following a shaky 25-pitch first inning that featured two walks, he finished his start by retiring nine of his final 11 batters faced, as his only hit allowed was a single by Ezequiel Duran in the second.

“Since we’ve had him, he’s been able to really throw strikes and attack hitters,” Kotsay said. “I like his pitch mix. He was on a limited pitch count tonight. The expectation was more or less three or four innings. He got through four, so we’ll continue to build him.”

As far as the stuff, it did not look much different from Newcomb’s younger days. His fastball maxed out at 95.4 mph and was used as the putaway pitch in three of his five strikeouts. The other two punchouts came on his curveball, which has long been a plus pitch of his and one he used almost equally as much as the fastball against Texas, throwing it 27 times as opposed to 28 four-seamers.

“I’ve always had that pitch,” Newcomb said of his curveball. “It’s just a matter of using that more and being confident throwing it in the zone. It just kind of makes all the other stuff play up so it makes everything kind of flow.”

The A’s have now used 22 different starting pitchers this season, a mark which is an ongoing Oakland record and just two shy of the Major League record of 24 by the Philadelphia A’s in 1915. While some of those pitchers have been one-and-done in terms of opportunity, Newcomb has earned a chance for his first real extended look as a starter for the first time since 2018.

“I’ve been looking for that all along,” Newcomb said. “I’ve always felt like I’m a starter with the different pitches I have and just the way I work. I’m pretty confident going forward starting and looking forward to it.”