Daily notes on prospects from lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen. Read previous installments here.

Sean Newcomb, LHP, Atlanta (Profile)
Level: Triple-A   Age: 20   Org Rank: 11  Top 100: HM
Line: 7 IP, 11 K, 1 H, 2 BB

Notes
Walks have again been an issue for Newcomb so far this year, but he was dominant on Sunday, missing bats in and above the zone with his fastball and then working his curveball and changeup (the latter more frequently later in the game) down for either more whiffs or weak contact. He lulled Brock Holt to sleep in an early plate appearance by tripling up on his curveball, then sneaked a fastball past him for a called third strike. Newcomb finished the day with the sequence below.

Dustin Fowler, CF, New York Yankees (Profile)
Level: Triple-A   Age: 22   Org Rank: 7   Top 100: 87
Line: 5-for-6, HR, 3B, 2 2B

Notes
Fowler was slashing .250/.305/.461 when the game started, but he went to sleep hitting .293/.341/.573. He doesn’t walk, but he generates good power on contact, he makes a lot of it, and he plays a premium position. It’s hard to envision Fowler hitting his way to the majors because every Yankees outfielder not named Brett Gardner is hitting right now and the club has several on-roster contingency plans in center field should something happen to Jacoby Ellsbury. If a slew of injuries does occur, though, the only minor-league outfielder on the Yankees’ 40-man is Mason Williams, who is currently hitting below the Mendoza line in Scranton.

Jose Berrios, RHP, Minnesota (Profile)
Level: Triple-A   Age: 22   Org Rank: N/A*   Top 100: N/A*
Line: 8 ip, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K

Notes
Berrios’s stuff is simply too good for Triple-A. He hasn’t made a significant mechanical adjustment nor changed his approach to pitching; his stuff is just great. Berrios is fastball-heavy, working his mid-90s four-seamer up above the zone and his two-seamer in on righties. His curveball is missing bats against lefties and righties, and he still uses his potentially impact changeup less than he probably should. Below is his masterful sixth inning from Sunday. Whatever Berrios has left to learn might have to be taught by major-league opponents.

*Berrios exhausted rookie eligibility last year.

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Notes from the back fields

I’ve ramped up in-person amateur looks ahead of the draft. State playoffs are underway here in Arizona and I stopped in to see 3B Jacob Gonzalez, a TCU commit, at Chaparral High School over the weekend. Gonzalez has big raw power, a projectable body and a chance for plus or better pop at peak. Scouts aren’t sure if he’s going to stay at third base, and some are skeptical about the bat-to-ball skills. Most have him evaluated as a round-three to -five type of prospect, though there are rumors he’s going round two or three as an underslot deal. I’ve heard two NL West teams as potential spots from multiple sources. There was just one area scout at this game (whom I saw) but many more were there for batting practice to see Gonzalez’s teammate, Blake Paugh. Paugh, an outfielder committed to Arizona, also has big raw power and runs well enough to have a chance to stay in center field, though he’s less physically projectable than Gonzalez.

Later that day I saw Gateway Community College RHP Seth Nordlin. Nordlin is among the strikeout leaders in all of college baseball, at any level. Nordlin has 50% more strikeouts than the next most prolific bat-misser in his JC Division and trails only State JC of Florida LHP Brendon Little (a potential first rounder) and Eastern Florida State RHP Tommy Romero in Ks, nationally. He was up to 89 for me on Saturday but I’ve got reports on him up to 92. Nordlin has a big, sturdy, 6-foot-4 frame, his fastball plays up due to extension, he throws an average (potentially above) curveball for strikes, and he’s an average athlete who fields his position well. Scouts note his body has improved since he arrived on campus, as has his velocity.

Angels minor-league Rule 5 pick, Adrian Almeida (video), touched 95 several times on Friday, and flashed a solid-average curveball. He was selected from the Mets. Also throwing hard this weekend was Diamondbacks 19-year-old righty Jhoan Duran (who was up to 97 and gave Ian Desmond fits in Desmond’s final Extended game) and former outfielder Drew Muren, who converted to pitching in independent ball and was touching 100 last year. Muren sat mostly 92-94 on Saturday.