Travelers add Angels’ top prospect

Texas League

The strength of the Arkansas Travelers just got a bit stronger.

Left-handed pitcher Sean Newcomb, the Los Angeles Angels’ No. 1 overall prospect according to Baseball America and MLB.com, has been promoted to Class AA Arkansas and will start today against Tulsa.

Newcomb, 22, was the 15th overall pick last season out of the University of Hartford and is 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 100 innings over 20 combined starts at Class A Burlington and high-A Inland Empire. He is ranked as baseball’s third-best left-handed pitching prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com.

Arkansas Manager Bill Richardson got to know Newcomb last year while he was the manager at Burlington, when the pitcher labored through four starts with a 6.94 ERA just a few months after being drafted.

Richardson was still impressed.

“My first impression was this is what a first-rounder is supposed to look like,” Richardson said Saturday. “The composure, the way the ball comes out, the mixes of pitches, it’s really special.”

Newcomb’s addition to the roster hasn’t been announced officially because a decision on a corresponding move has not been made. But the 6-5, 245-pound lefthander will likely be in the Travs’ rotation for the rest of the season, joining highly ranked prospects Chris Ellis (No. 2 in the Angels’ system according to MLB.com) and Nate Smith (No. 5).

Newcomb has handled one promotion smoothly this season. After compiling a 1.83 ERA and striking out 45 batters in 34 1/3 innings at Burlington, he was promoted to Inland Empire, where he had a 2.47 ERA and struck out 84 batters in 652/3 innings.

“It’s very exciting,” Richardson said of Newcomb joining the rotation. “It feels good that they trust our staff to take care of the prospects, and also they feel the urgency of where we’re at in the division.”

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