Interview with Pirates’ 2015 first round pick Kevin Newman

Jun 15, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman the Pirates first overall pick in the 2015 draft in attendance prior to the Pirates hosting the Chicago White Sox in an inter-league game at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2015 first round draft pick Kevin Newman. Before we get into the details of the interview, let me give you some background information on Kevin.

Co-Editor Tyler Waite told you in his draft day one analysis a little about Kevin Newman:

"“Kevin Newman just finished his junior year at the University of Arizona. Newman is 6’1″ and 180 pounds and bats and throws right-handed. This past season for Arizona, Newman batted .370/.426/.489 with two home runs, 36 RBIs, 20 walks, and 15 strikeouts in 227 at-bats. He was also 22-for-25 in stolen base attempts and made 12 errors in the field. He became the first player in Cape Cod Baseball League history to win consecutive batting titles after the 2014 season. You can view his Arizona profile here.”"

Just a few days later, it was reported that Kevin had signed with the Pirates.

Then, it was announced that he would become a member of the West Virginia Black Bears for their inaugural season.

Currently, the Black Bears are twelve games into the season. Kevin has appeared in nine games, starting each one at shortstop. As of the writing of this post, he has eight hits, three walks, six strike outs and has a slash line of .211/.286/.263 with an OPS of .549. For his current stats, you can check out his player profile page.

As I said in the opening, I was recently able to snag an interview with Kevin Newman. If you listened to this week’s broadcast of Rum Bunter Radio, the interview was one of the featured topics. If not, please consider subscribing to Rum Bunter Radio in your Apple Podcast App or on the app Stitcher if you are an Android user.

For those that didn’t listen to the podcast, below is a direct link to my interview with Kevin Newman.

For those of you that are unable to listen, the next slide is a transcript of the interview for your reading pleasure.

Next: Kevin Newman Interview Transcript