Another very good outing for Stewart. 6 innings. 4 hits. 1 run (earned). ERA now down to 2.21. Another game he will be no decision due to lack of support. A couple more starts like this and the Twins might conclude that he's too much for what he's facing.

 

Last five starts 27 innings with 2 earned runs. Methinks that's an o.66 ERA. Nicely done, Kohl!

Is there any where to read about his pitch count, pitch speed and mix of pitches?

The day after Berrios and May produce dominating performances, it's great to see. I heard he was hitting 95 on the gun and continually forcing the opponent to pound the ball into the ground.

Still only 3K's in 6 innings; 6.45 K/9 now on the year. I like the success but not how he's getting it. Why is he struggling to miss bats in Low A ball? These guys swing at everything down at this level.

Still only 3K's in 6 innings; 6.45 K/9 now on the year. I like the success but not how he's getting it. Why is he struggling to miss bats in Low A ball? These guys swing at everything down at this level.

 

Is his main teaching goal right now just to throw strikes?.....And.....Given all the Ground Balls he's inducing, is he working primarily on getting his sinker to become an effective out pitch? (That's assuming he throws one at this point, IDK).

Is his main teaching goal right now just to throw strikes?.....And.....Given all the Ground Balls he's inducing, is he working primarily on getting his sinker to become an effective out pitch? (That's assuming he throws one at this point, IDK).

 

Well I hope there is some explanation and it's not a permanent expectation. I'm struggling to find other MLB level pitchers with a strong strikeout rate that had a poor one in A ball. Anyone with examples would make me feel better.

Well I hope there is some explanation and it's not a permanent expectation. I'm struggling to find other MLB level pitchers with a strong strikeout rate that had a poor one in A ball. Anyone with examples would make me feel better.

 

Remember too, he's literally learning how to become a professional pitcher, probably far behind a typical top teenage A-ball top pitching prospect in terms of understanding the game and what it takes to succeed......quarterbacking was clearly his main sports focus up until less than a year ago.

This is why I wouldn't be surprised to see him move up. He just might have too much "stuff" for the opposition. Not enough to miss the bats but enough to eliminate solid hits. I was wondering if a couple more of these starts might cause them to move him up for a more stern test.

 

I, too, think K's are way overrated at this level. This is a learning curve he's on and I'd expect that they are mandating he throws so many non-heat pitches. Learn to throw his junk pitches for strikes and learn to deliver them in the clutch.

 

In any case it's sure fun to follow.

I think I'm recalling correctly that Jeff Johnson tweeted that Stewart was throwing a ton of breaking balls and off-speed stuff.

The lack of K's concerns me as well but it is a small sample. He was over a k per inning last year as well. Still about a 3/1 K/BB which is great. No one can get a hit on him opponents batting average was .169 last year and is .184 this year. There's a lot to like so far with our new prospect but like some I'll feel much better if his K rate starts creeping back up close to a K per inning as the year goes on.

Some guys have natural talent that is too much for low levels (Delmon Young), and should move up to see if they are good at their job, or just great athletes.....

Overall he hasn't gotten a ton of groundballs either. It seems crazy to be concerned at this point, but... I nonetheless am a bit concerned. I just figured his raw stuff was such that low A hitters would whiff at a decent rate.

The kid could be working on any number of things. I'm not the least bit concerned. If he advances a level and the issue continues, then it's time to wonder about his upside.

Overall he hasn't gotten a ton of groundballs either. It seems crazy to be concerned at this point, but... I nonetheless am a bit concerned. I just figured his raw stuff was such that low A hitters would whiff at a decent rate.

 

He had a ton of GBs today- 10, with only 3 FBs. That is likely to put his total GB% well above 50%. In the Midwest League, for pitchers who have thrown 35 or more innings, there are only 16 pitchers above the 50% rate. After today, he'll probably rank about #10 in the league. I think Stewart will be fine.....as Birdwatcher surmises above, there's a good chance that he's working on his other pitches, as this appears to be a level perfect for him to toy with his approach on the mound, and work on a general plan going forward from Low A ball.

 

It seems way too soon to start panicking over the K rate after 40 A-ball innings when we don't know all of the facts. If he's still whiffing guys at this rate late next summer after a call-up to AA, it might be time to sound the alarm.

He had a ton of GBs today- 10, with only 3 FBs. That is likely to put his total GB% well above 50%. In the Midwest League, for pitchers who have thrown 35 or more innings, there are only 16 pitchers above the 50% rate. After today, he'll probably rank about #10 in the league. I think Stewart will be fine.....as Birdwatcher surmises above, there's a good chance that he's working on his other pitches, as this appears to be a level perfect for him to toy with his approach on the mound, and work on a general plan going forward from Low A ball.

 

It seems way too soon to start panicking over the K rate after 40 A-ball innings when we don't know all of the facts. If he's still whiffing guys at this rate late next summer after a call-up to AA, it might be time to sound the alarm.

 

I'm not panicking. Just a bit concerned. Looking at top pitching prospects, it's hard to find one that didn't post high K-rates in A-ball (an example would be Rick Porcello - but he hasn't lived up to his draft hype).

 

Before the 2013 draft, Keith Law rated Stewart's "current" pitches this way:

 

Fastball - 65

Curve -55

Slider - 65

Change-up - 50

 

That's elite stuff, not in the future, but presently. No matter what the pitch mix, A-ballers should swing and miss a lot at those caliber of pitches. The fact they aren't makes me wonder.

I think I'm recalling correctly that Jeff Johnson tweeted that Stewart was throwing a ton of breaking balls and off-speed stuff.

That would be my expectation. They're probably not worried about his fastball playing at the next level, and don't want him going out there and just blowing the doors off of guys with the heater and slider while his offspeed stuff rusts. It's more about teaching than testing in low A.

I'm not panicking. Just a bit concerned. Looking at top pitching prospects, it's hard to find one that didn't post high K-rates in A-ball (an example would be Rick Porcello - but he hasn't lived up to his draft hype).

 

Before the 2013 draft, Keith Law rated Stewart's "current" pitches this way:

 

Fastball - 65

Curve -55

Slider - 65

Change-up - 50

 

That's elite stuff, not in the future, but presently. No matter what the pitch mix, A-ballers should swing and miss a lot at those caliber of pitches. The fact they aren't makes me wonder.

 

I wonder about the subjective rating of individual pitches while throwing against high school players. And baseball was more of a hobby for Stewart than football, so this is probably still a very raw kid, as pitchers go, he's probably strictly a thrower at this point. More importantly, let's address the subject based on what we know for sure.....For the most part, these are the same players that Stewart had a 10.80 K/9 last year in Gulf Coast and E-Town. I heard that the gun had him at 95MPH today. Unless there is more negative information, perhaps health-related, yet to reveal itself, it's logical to conclude that he's primarily working on his secondary pitches, with the main goal in that regard being to get them over the plate, while developing an organized pitching plan, not to fool people and blow everyone away. This situation is definitely worth watching, but until we start hearing about UCLs or shoulder soreness, we can probably let this play out for a while and sleep soundly at night.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that he was currently not using everything in his arsenal to refine some of his pitches. That would explain the low K rates when he's only throwing 2 pitches.

 

One of the things that bothers me about strict stat analysis is that the stats don't always capture the reasons things happen. If he's doing something like say shelving his fastball in favor of honing a sinker, then naturally he's going to get less Ks. The stat lines say that he's not getting Ks in A ball, but they missed the underlying story. I'm not too worried, especially since that K rate has been generally rising.