Gilroy native and West Valley star David Newton Jr. inked as
relief pitcher
Two years ago, David Newton was starring as a hard-throwing shortstop for the Live Oak baseball team.
Two weeks ago, Newton signed a professional contact with the San Francisco Giants – as a relief pitcher – and has reported to a Giants’ mini-camp that started Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“I had no idea what was going to happen,” said Newton, who pitched part-time during his senior year with the Acorns, of his transformation to a pitcher.
Newton, who grew up in Gilroy, was a two-time all-Tri County Athletic League player at Live Oak and was named to the All-Northern California team the past two years at West Valley College.
He was drafted in the 37th round by the Giants last season after his freshman campaign at West Valley and went 8-1 this season for the Vikings, who were the top seed in the Northern California Community College playoffs before getting eliminated in the second round.
While Newton was one of the top hitters in the Acorns’ lineup and was named the team’s co-Most Valuable Player his senior year, Live Oak baseball head coach Mark Cummins said he knew Newton’s arm was special.
“He has a great arm,” Cummins said. “He’s always had a lot of potential. He was always a great shortstop too. I thought if he didn’t make it as a pitcher, he might be able to make it as position player.”
While Newton grew up as a Cincinnati Reds fans – a trait that was passed down to him by his father David Sr. – the younger Newton said he is excited about being drafted and signed by a local team and the possibility of being able to play close to home, be it with the San Francisco Giants someday or the Class A San Jose Giants.
“That’s one thing I was thinking about, but that’s a long road,” Newton said. “A lot of my friends and family could watch me more.”
Newton said his family was a big part of his involvement in baseball. His father, as well as several cousins, all played the sport and his father was a major factor in him continuing to play.
“He’s the main reason I kept playing,” Newton said of his father. “He was pretty hard on me. I hated it back then, but I guess it paid off.”
Cummins, who has seen two other players – Rey Sanchez, a 15-year major league veteran, and Brandon Villafuerte, who is currently with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate Fresno Grizzlies – sign professional contracts and hopes to be able to pay to watch Newton play some day. He also said he thinks Newton’s late start as a pitcher may be beneficial.
“That’s one thing about not pitching that much in high school, he should have a lot of mileage left in that arm,” Cummins said. “He always had a good arm, but it was tough to harness sometimes. If he continues to improve, who knows how far he can go. It’d be great to see him at AT&T (Park) some day closing a game against the Dodgers.”
Newton credited the work of West Valley coach Mike Perez for helping him turn from a hard-thrower to a pitcher.
“I always threw hard, but I was never really was a pitcher,” Newton said. “Coach Perez showed me a lot and tried to make me into a pitcher. He had to work pretty hard to do that.”
Newton said Perez worked with him and the entire Vikings’ staff on developing a more effective change up, which has complemented his 91-93 mile per hour fastball.
“That was a pretty big change because I’ d never done that before,” Newton said. “I’m still not there yet.”
Newton has also worked on improving his slider and said the Giants view him as a potential set-up man. For now, he’s cranking his arm up and hopes to impress during the mini-camp before finding out where the Giants will send him.
Newton will likely remain in Scottsdale with the Arizona Giants of the Rookie League or be sent to the low Class A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in Keizer, Ore.
Regardless of where he goes, Newton said he’s happy to be able to continue to play.
“I was never really big on school. I like baseball a lot so that’s what I wanted to do,” he said.
