7/13/19

Tom Brennan - SPOTLIGHT ON METS PROSPECT SHERVEYN NEWTON




LIGHTS! CAMERA! SPOTLIGHT! ON METS FIREFLIES IF SHERVEYN NEWTON

I thought I'd take a look at good ol' # 5, the Mets' website's listed # 5 prospect, Sherveyn Newton, who may have to change his name to Sherbert...at least my smart phone wants to spell it that way. 

I love sherbert, but I'll stick with Sherveyn, thanks, smart phone.

Mets top hitting prospects have not hit well this year, but the prospect dudes that aren't hurt (like Disabled Des Lindsay) are YOUNG, so what you hope for is upward trajectory through the struggles. 

Newton in 2019 has been 4 stage rocket.

Struggles were expected. He hadn't played baseball for long, and jumped from his mostly successful 2018 season with Kingsport right over Brooklyn to fill season ball in 2019.

FIRST STAGE - ABSENCE: He did not play this season, for the Columbia Fireflies, until their 17th game, in which he went 0-4 with 3 Ks.

SECOND STAGE - HITLESS STRUGGLES: When he did start playing, his first at bats were abysmal - 4 for his first 51 (.078), with 23 Ks, but other than Ronny Mauricio, the whole team wasn't hitting then.  The hitting drought was a Fireflies contagion. At that point, though, I was thinking: THIS GUY IS THE METS' # 5 PROSPECT??

THIRD STAGE - GETTING HIS SEA LEGS BACK: His next stage was a slow, steady climb from that .078 deep pit, during which he hit .216 over 143 at bats - not exciting, but three times better than .078.  

FOURTH STAGE - SCORCHING:  Finally, something clicked and over his last 7 games through July 10, he had 6 multi-hit games in a 7 game stretch, going 14 for 31, and raising his average to .218.

Well, .218 ain't good, but I sure like the trajectory.  

Listed at 6'4", 180, folks expect the 20 year old to fill out and hit for power.  Jeff McNeil was a stick when the Mets signed him...but he's no stick now, so I likewise expect Newton to put on 30 pounds over the next two seasons.

Defensively, he has played at SS, 2B, and 3B this season, and made 9 errors in 63 games - not terrible, and he has time to tighten that up, certainly.  Most of his time before this year was at SS, but with SS Mauricio and 3B Mark Vientos, it is no surprise he'd be doing most of his work at 2nd base.

He is described as having a plus arm, plus raw power, and a guy who tries to work out walks (21 in 63 games this year, 41 in 56 Kingsport games last season), which has also helped spike his strikeout rate.  Better, however, for the switch hitter to learn the strike zone well now than be picked apart by precision pitchers later.

Sherveyn, in my opinion, should remain at Columbia the rest of this year, and hope that the Stage 4 Scorch continues the rest of this year.

That said, Newton seems 2-3 more minor league seasons away from being a big league starting player.  In 2023, he would still only be 24. 


6 comments:

Mike Freire said...

Nice write up, Tom.

With the lower levels seemingly "teeming" with infielders, would ol' Shervyn be a candidate to move to the OF? It appears that the lower levels are also a bit thin on OF'er, so it would kill to two birds with one stone, right?

Plus, if he is athletic enough to play 2B, SS or 3B, then I am sure he could handle either corner OF spot.......he is also young, so there is time to make the adjustment to a new position.

Oh and Orange Sherbert is a nice choice in the summer heat!

holmer said...

I'm taking a trip in a couple of weeks to see the K-Mets and the ColaFlies play. I'm looking forward to seeing the Mets top prospects in action. Even though Syracuse is considerably closer to my CT home, I'm not going to waste my time going to Syracuse (unless Kay is pitching and I might reconsider going north).

Reese Kaplan said...

I agree. The Mets org is thin on outfielders and should consider some conversions to patrol the grass.

Tom Brennan said...

Hey Mike, hope all is superb in Georgia. A Sherveyn Shift to the OF....Great Idea.

Tom Brennan said...

Holmer, report in for us. On the scene beat reporter.

Tom Brennan said...

I only wrote this a few days ago, but the Sherveyn Surge continues. 20 for his last 49 from July 2 thru July 16, 7 extra base hits. Up from the dregs (.180) to .226 in 2 weeks.

Turning point, or just a hot streak? My guess is the former.