Kohl Stewart

Kohl Stewart (RHP)

Bats - Right Handed

Throws - Right Handed

Weights - 200lbs

Heights - 6'3"

Born - October 7th, 1994 (18)

Stewart was drafted #4 overall in the 2013 draft by the Twins out of St.Pius X High School, Houston. Stewart was committed to play QB at Texas A&M but choose to play baseball instead.Stewart is a right handed pitcher with an ideal pitchers frame. He posses a fastball that sits between 92-95 mph which has hit 97 and has some movement. His best pitch is a 85-88 mph slider. He also has a curve ball and change up that both profile to be at least average pitches. ESPN's Keith law grades his current and future tools as the following:

Current. Future

Fastball- 65. 70

FB movement- 50. 50

Command- 35. 50

Control- 40. 50

Curveball- 55. 55

Slider- 65. 70

Change up- 50. 50

(Based on the scouting scale of 20-80. 50 being average)

Stewart is currently on the Twins GCL roster and has made three appearances. In 8 innings of work he has give up 5 hits, 1 ER, with 7 k and 1 walk. He currently has a 1.15 ERA.

Expert scouting reports:

Keith law:

Stewart has a scholarship to carry a clipboard for Johnny Football next year at Texas A&M, but should never set food on campus except as a fan because his baseball future is so bright (and comes with lower risk of concussions).

He has four legitimate pitches with an athletic, strong build and the potential for two grade-70s offerings on the 20-80 scouting scale. His fastball is consistently 92-94, touching 97, with good downhill plane and some boring life to his arm side. He doesn't command the pitch yet or throw it for enough strikes, which may be inexperience of a function of the delivery. His slider is his best pitch, 85-88 with hard, late break down and away from right-handed hitters, although he doesn't command it as well as he does his hard 79-82 mph curveball. He also has a a straight change at 83-85 with solid arm speed but little action.

Stewart's delivery isn't ideal, as his hips are pretty stiff and his pitching arm doesn't pronate until fairly late, while he drifts forward off the rubber rather than taking a strong stride towards the plate, much of which may be the reason for his below-average command and control. Even with those issues, he's by far the best prep arm in the class and should go in the top half of the first round.

Kohl Stewart: 2013 MLB Draft Prospect Profile - ESPN

Baseball America:

2013 MLB Draft: First Round Analysis - BaseballAmerica.com

Christopher Crawford:

I heard reports that the Twins were so enamored with Kohl Stewart that they were ready to take him over even Bryant, Gray and Appel. I’m not sure if I would’ve done that, but I get the infatuation. Stewart will show four pitches; a nasty slider and a plus-plus fastball plus an above-average curve and average change. In other words, he’s really good. I’m not in love with his mechanics, but he’s a smart kid and very athletic, so I see No. 1 potential with the floor of a dominating reliever or back-end starter. A scout had this to say:

"He’d be the No. 2 player on the board if I was running the show,” an NL East scout said. He’s got two 70 (on the 20-80 scouting scale) pitches in his heater and his slider, and I think the curve and change have gotten better. He’s not the prettiest mechanically but he’s got good rhythm and he knows how to pitch. That’s potential ace stuff, to me.”

2013 Draft Review: Minnesota Twins |

Jonathan Mayo:

There are several things that make Stewart an intriguing, yet enigmatic, prospect. The first is his dual-sport status: Stewart is one of the better high school quarterbacks in the country and is committed to Texas A&M for both sports. Secondly, Stewart is a Type 1 diabetic and interested teams will surely want to be sure about his health. Even with those variables, Stewart is bound to get a lot of attention, especially after throwing very well at the Area Code Games over the summer.

He can run his fastball up to 95 mph with a slider and changeup to go along with it. He's more of a thrower than pitcher right now and his arm action concerns some. That might be a question answered only if a team feels he's willing to forgo his two-sport college experience.

Stewart played in both the Area Code Games and the Perfect Game All-American Classic over the summer. He was the starting pitcher for the West in the Perfect Game, giving up one run on two hits over his inning of work.

2013 Prospect Watch | MLB.com: News

In Kohl's first two starts:

First start:2 innings pitched, 2 hits, 1 ER, 2 Ks, no walks

Second Start:3 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 ER, 3 Ks, no walks

Wonder how Kohl Stewart stacks up compared to other recently drafted high school pitchers? Don't worry, Callis answered this question in his April 29th Ask BA article.

I’m basing the rankings below on how the pitchers were regarded at the time of their draft. For instance, Jose Fernandez would rank No. 1 based on current status, but he ranked 20th overall on our 2011 Top 200 Draft Prospects list.

1. Dylan Bundy (Orioles, No. 4 overall pick, 2011)

So polished that scouts considered him equivalent to a college pitcher.

2. Jameson Taillon (Pirates, No. 2, 2010)

Pittsburgh took the next Josh Beckett between Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

3. Archie Bradley (Diamondbacks, No. 7, 2011)

Had even more electric stuff than his Oklahoma high school rival, Bundy.

4. Max Fried (Padres, No. 7, 2012)

First lefty on this list is a slightly less powerful version of Clayton Kershaw.

5. Lucas Giolito (Nationals, No. 16, 2012)

Might have been first prep righty to go No. 1 overall if he hadn’t hurt his elbow.

6. Kohl Stewart (St. Pius X HS, Houston, 2013)

Has best high school arm this year, extra leverage as Texas A&M quarterback recruit.

7. Lance McCullers Jr. (Astros, No. 41, 2012)

Only signability dropped him to the sandwich round, where he landed $2.5 million.

8. Taylor Guerrieri (Rays, No. 24, 2011)

His stuff compared to Bradley’s in 2011, but maturity issues caused a slight slide.

9. Karsten Whitson (Padres, No. 9, 2010)

Failed to sign after contentious negotiations, then struggled and got hurt at Florida.

10. Trey Ball (New Castle, Ind., HS, 2013)

There’s no longer a split camp on two-way’s star future—he’s definitely a pitcher.

Link to article below:

Ask BA: The 2013 Draft's "True First-Rounders" - BaseballAmerica.com

Keith Law released his updated top 50 prospect list today. Kohl Stewart came in last #30. This is what Mr.Law had to say about the 18 year old pitcher:

"The fourth overall pick in this year's draft, Stewart walked away from a commitment to back up Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M to join the Twins' system as their best pitching prospect, a four-pitch starter up to 97 with a plus slider who needs to work on fastball command and using his lower half more in his delivery."

BaseballAmerica on Kohl's start yesterday:

Kohl Stewart, rhp, Twins: The fourth overall pick in this year’s draft made his fourth pro appearance Monday in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. As always, we should never get too high or too low based off Rookie-ball stats, but Stewart does boast a 9-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first 10 pro innings, having allowed just two earned runs. He fanned two in two innings of work yesterday, though he did give up three runs (one earned) on two hits.

Last year berrios pitched 8 games and 16 innings for the GCL twins, and was then promoted to elz. Do you think we will see a similar timeline for kohl? He is way ahead of berrios pace in terms for innings pitched.

Seth put this up on tweeter and I figured this is a good link to have here. It is an article about Kohl Stewart's, and Trey Balls, development paths. Check it out:

http://www.news-press.com/article/20130728/SPORTS/307280040/Red-Sox-Twins-careful-with-top-picks?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports

Jim Callis at BaseballAmerica was asked where he would rank the recent draftees. Here is what he had to say about Mr.Stewart:

"I’d place Stewart at No. 30, between Frazier and Ventura. Yes, Ventura and Stephenson have proven more. But I also had one scout tell me Stewart’s stuff was just as good as Gray’s and Appel’s and that Stewart was a better athlete. I’ll bet on the upside."

Keith Law also had Stewart ranked 30 on his list. Link to BA's article below:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/ask-ba-2013-draftees-midseason-top-50/

Stewart pitched two innings today, his first since July 22nd, striking out two, walking one, and giving up no hits. In his massive 12 innings pitched this year Kohl has the stat line of 1.50 ERA, 11K, 2 BB, and has only given up 7 hits.

After his 4 inning, 5 hit, 1 ER, 5/1 K/BB game on Thursday Kohl gets promoted to Elizabethon today.

BaseballAmerica on Kohls first ELZ start:

Kohl Stewart, rhp, Twins. All players look forward to the day they can leave the complex-based Gulf Coast League behind them, and the Twins’ prized righty is no exception. The fourth pick in this year’s draft out of a Houston high school, Stewart expressed his gratitude by throwing four shutout innings, fanning eight, in his debut for Rookie-level Elizabethton of the Appalachian League. He allowed only one hit and one walk.