Cal notes: Angels' Newcomb rising quickly

In the summer of 2011, Sean Newcomb was raw -- so raw that no one took the chance to draft the big southpaw from Massachusetts.

But over the next three years, under the tutelage of head coach Justin Blood at the University of Hartford, Newcomb blossomed into one of college baseball's most dominant pitchers. When he became Draft-eligible again last summer, the Angels made him the No. 15 overall pick.

Now Newcomb finds himself with the Class A Advanced Inland Empire 66ers, the same club where Blood won a Cal League Championship in 2003 as a reliever.

"He texted me when I got up here," Newcomb said. "It's a pretty funny coincidence how it worked out like that."

Newcomb, the Angels' No. 2 prospect and MLB.com's No. 64 overall, made his Inland Empire debut Saturday. He didn't look fazed in his five innings of work, striking out seven while allowing an earned run on four hits and a walk in a 3-2 win over Lancaster. Including his seven starts with Class A Burlington, Newcomb has a 1.83 ERA in 39 1/3 innings with 52 strikeouts, 20 walks and a 1.25 WHIP this season.

"Felt good, just kind of carried over what I was doing in the Midwest League," Newcomb said. "Just attacking the strike zone. Been doing a lot better job of that this year."

The 21-year-old has come a long way since playing for Blood, who took over the Hartford program for the 2012 season when Newcomb was a freshman. Through long-toss and other throwing programs under Blood's guidance, Newcomb ramped up his velocity while developing his changeup and curveball.

Newcomb, who has an easy delivery, features a fastball that can touch 94 mph and has been relying on his curve and changeup. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound lefty spent three weeks with the Angels during Spring Training, where he caught the attention of manager Mike Scioscia.

Many outsiders speculate Newcomb could make his big league debut by the end of the season.

"This is pretty crazy," Newcomb said. "I didn't know what to expect at this point of the year. To be where I am now is pretty cool. It's exciting knowing that this has happened in one year. Hopefully in the next year, even more can happen and I keep moving up and doing what I can do."

Perhaps the biggest test for Newcomb will be how his body responds to a long season. Between Hartford and the Minor Leagues last year, Newcomb threw a personal-high 107 2/3 innings in 20 starts.

Despite all the high expectations and comparisons to Jon Lester, Newcomb sounds like he's keeping a level head.

"I never really look forward to what's to come," Newcomb said. "Just go through my everyday routine every time I get on the mound. Try to get a bunch of zeroes -- that's really all I think about. Obviously I'd like to get up levels as fast as possible, but I haven't tried to really think about that. Just kind of live in the moment and do what I have to do each day."

In brief

Quakes streaking: With Monday night's 5-2 win over Lake Elsinore, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes completed a sweep and ran their win streak to a season-high eight games. Through 33 contests, Quakes third baseman Brandon Trinkwon leads the league with a .369 batting average. Right-hander Jose de Leon has a Cal League-best 1.67 ERA and 58 strikeouts.

Barreto heating up: Franklin Barreto, who joins Newcomb as the Cal League's only other prospect in the MLB.com Top 100, is starting to find a rhythm at the plate for the Stockton Ports. The shortstop hit two homers and drove in a season-high five runs Monday while pushing his batting average in May to .320. Oakland's No. 2 prospect hit .171 in April.

Reed's streak ends: Lancaster JetHawks first baseman A.J. Reed went 0-for-2 with two walks on Monday, ending his hitting streak at 10 games. The Astros' No. 12 prospect started his hot stretch with a three-homer, nine-RBI performance on May 6, batting 15-for-40 (.375) during the streak.