Vitals:
Name: Kyler Newby
Position: Relief Pitcher
DOB:02/22/1985
Height: 6'4”
Weight: 225 lbs
B/T: R/R
History:
The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Kyler Newby in the 2004
draft's 50th round out of Mesa Community College. At the time, most people
viewed it as a meaningless homer pick, but it has turned out to be worth so much
more.
Kyler's first two seasons of professional baseball have
been nothing short of breathtaking. He averages 13.75 strikeouts per nine
innings to just 3.5 walks. Overall, he has gone 7-1 with 13 saves and a
2.12 ERA. In over 85 innings of work, Newby has allowed just one home run.
Newby continued his success this fall in the Hawaii Winter
League, fanning 27 batters in 18.1 innings. The only snag was a minor
injury to his pitching elbow in mid-November, an injury that will force Newby to
begin his second straight April in extended spring training.
Newby throws a split-fingered fastball, a pitch well-known
to cause arm problems for young pitchers. Yet he maintains that the
splitter was not the cause of the injury.
Pitches:
One reason Newby doesn't blame the splitter for his elbow
discomfort is the fact that the splitter isn't a pitch he goes to terribly
often. However, it was a pitch he specifically worked on in Hawaii, along
with his straight change, so throwing it more than he was used to might have
been the culprit.
In the regular season, Newby considers himself a
fastball-dominant pitcher. "I like throwing fastballs, I like going after
hitters," he told us. "I don't want to sit back and try to throw junk."
It may seem like an odd attitude to have for a pitcher who
doesn't throw particularly hard. But Newby is a pitcher who realizes that
a well-located 91 MPH fastball can be more effective than an erratic 96-MPH
heater.
He also realizes that the mere threat of secondary pitches
makes the fastball that much more useful. Many youngsters try to "pitch
backwards" and use the fastball as a sort of changeup off of their breaking
pitches. But Newby, who has a plus curveball, knows better, and his
numbers show that his philosophy is the correct one.
Prediction: If Newby's
splitter and changeup continue to improve at the rate
they're going, he'll have four quality pitches with
which to attack batters. That will make it
tempting to at least give him a shot as a starter.
On the other hand, it's difficult to tinker with a
recipe that tastes so good. If Newby continues to
put up dominant numbers as a closer, the Diamondbacks
should allow him to be that fastball dominant pitcher
that he wants to be.
Major League
Clone: Danny Graves
ETA:
Once Newby has satisfactorily completed his rehab, he
should begin his season at Hi-A ball. It's
difficult to predict exactly how fast he'll plow through
the system, since he's still quite young and hasn't
dealt with much adversity yet. The earliest
possible date that he could arrive on the big league
scene would be September of 2008. And if Newby
isn't in a major league uniform by 2010, it would mean
that these little nagging injuries he's had were in fact
more serious than they seemed.
Premium subscribers can
click here for FutureBacks.com's full interview with Kyler
Newby
Read more from Keith Glab at
BaseballEvolution.com