BRADENTON, Fla. - Kevin Newman made the jump to Altoona in the second half of the 2016 season, which means he's not exactly knocking at the door in the majors. But Newman has the chance to move quickly through the upper levels, making it possible to arrive by the middle of the 2017 season, at the earliest, or sometime during 2018 being most likely.
That's not to say that Newman has nothing to work on, and is just biding his time in the minors until a certain date rolls around. While he is advanced in his development, which allowed him to make the jump to Double-A in his first full professional season, he does have a few things to iron out along the way, mostly with his defense at shortstop.