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Shervyen Newton
Week: 6 G, 23 AB, .391/.482/.913, 9 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 3 BB, 8 K, 0/0 SB (High-A)
2022 Season: 109 G, 374 AB, .219/.315/.382, 82 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR, 46 BB, 152 K, 1/2 SB, .330 BABIP (Single-A/High-A)
Shervyen Newton’s rise to prominence came quickly, rocketing up prospect lists after coming stateside in 2018 after two years in the Dominican Summer League and hitting .280/.408/.449 in 56 games with the Kingsport Mets with 5 home runs, 4 stolen bases, and 46 walks to 84 strikeouts. I came away extremely impressed, ranking him the fifth best player I saw that year, and Amazin’ Avenue ranked him the Mets’ 6th top prospect. He struggled in 2019, his first year in full-season ball, and the doldrums have continued ever since.
Earlier in the season, it appeared as if Newton might be making progress. Beginning the season with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets, Newton hit .298/.375/.548 in his first month of 2022, slugging 4 home runs, drawing 10 walks, and striking out 29 times in 24 games. The Mets promoted Newton to High-A Brooklyn- he did turn 23 at the end of April and already had 139 games worth of experience at the Single-A level between his time with the Columbia Fireflies in 2019 and the St. Lucie Mets in 2021- but the Dutch outfielder hit an abrupt wall. Newton hit .196/.338/.357 for the rest of May, and then hit .177/.245/.282 in 24 games in June, .197/.329/.310 in 21 games in July, and is hitting .218/.292/.397 in 23 games in August.
Newton still has the physical tools that made him an intriguing and exciting prospect years ago- he shows above-average power in batting practice and is still able to play shortstop with no problems- but his at-bats are almost automatic giveaways. He seemingly does not come up to the plate with a plan, and his ability to recognize spin has not developed in years. I have seen Newton come up to the plate and flail at pitches, 1-2-3, in completely non-competitive at-bats. At this point, with his age and the amount of games under his belt, it is unlikely that he suddenly and magically puts everything together, but he is certainly capable of going on tears, as was the case this week.
Jeffrey Colon
Week: 1 G (0 GS), 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (High-A)
Season: 17 G (5 GS), 61.0 IP, 49 H, 22 R, 19 ER (2.80 ERA), 16 BB, 71 K, .290 BABIP (Low-A/High-A)
Jeffrey Colon is from Las Matas de Farfan, Dominican Republic, a town not far from the Haitian border that was the birthplace of numerous current and former major leaguers, including Jean Segura, Juan Encarnación, Roberto Novoa, Odalis Perez, Ramón Santiago, and Valerio De Los Santos. Colon was signed by the Mets on June 2, 2018, at the very end of the 2018-2019 international signing period and spent the entire season in the Dominican Summer League. The 18-year-old appeared in 15 games and pitched a total of 34.0 innings, posting a 4.24 ERA with 30 hits allowed, 16 walks, and 33 strikeouts. He was sent stateside in 2019, pitching for the GCL Mets, and had a similar season in the complex; appearing in 19 games, he posted a 4.94 ERA in 27.1 innings pitched, allowing 28 hits, walking 17, and striking out 22.
After missing 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Colon split the year with the FCL Mets and the St. Lucie Mets, pitching 18.2 innings for both teams to varying results. With the FCL Mets, he appeared in 9 games and posted a 1.93 ERA, allowing 14 hits, walking 3, and striking out 27. With the St. Lucie Mets, he appeared in 14 games and posted a 6.27 ERA, allowing 28 hits, walking 11, and striking out 17. He began the 2022 season with St. Lucie and had a much better go at it this season. The 22-year-old appeared in 13 games and posted a 3.23 ERA in 47.1 innings, allowing 41 hits, walking 11, and striking out 57. He was promoted to High-A Brooklyn in mid-August and has been extremely effective in the 13.2 innings he has thrown for the Cyclones so far, posting a 1.32 ERA with 8 hits allowed, 5 walks, and 14 strikeouts.
The right-hander throws from a low-three-quarters arm slot, with a long arm action through the back and very minimal unnecessary movement. Colon is mainly a fastball/changeup pitcher, occasionally mixing in his sinker as well. He pitches backwards, using his changeup 50% of the time, and complementing it with his fastball and sinker.
Colon is able to throw different versions of his changeup. One is thrown harder and features lower spin rates, less vertical drop and more horizontal movement and the other is thrown with a little less velocity but has more vertical drop and almost non-existent horizontal movement. The harder thrown version sits around 90 MPH and features between 1960 and 2270 RPM and has anywhere between 24 and 34 inches of vertical movement and 15-22 inches of horizontal movement. The version that is thrown with less velocity sits in the mid-to-high-80s and features between 2360 and 2800 RPM and has 37 and 43 inches of vertical movement and 0-4 inches of horizontal movement.
His four-seam fastball has averaged 93 MPH, sitting between 87 and 95 MPH this season, averaging 2330 RPM. His sinker has averaged 90 MPH, sitting between 87 and 93 MPH, averaging 2370 RPM.
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