Kohl Stewart: 6.8 K/9?

[twinsfan34]

His slider has grades from 65 to 70, so yes, plus to plus-plus.

 

BP:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=22959

MLB: (go to prospect #32)

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2014/

Grading on the Curve:

http://gradingonthecurve.com/2013/01/16/2013-draft-prospect-kohl-stewart-rhp-tx/

Keith Law in TD archive:

http://twinsdaily.com/archive/index.php/t-7679.html

MLBtraderumors (2nd article):

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/kohl-stewart

 

 

And I've read reports that he's been limited on the use of the slider or 'slurve' he has to focus on spot command of the FB/Changeup.

 

The guy had 2 bad starts where his control was off...otherwise his ERA would be under 1.70 as a 19 year old (2.9 years younger than his competition) is pretty darn solid, not sure if anyone saw it. But compare him to a 4 year college starter and #1 overall draft pick of the same MLB draft (Mark Appel) and he looks like the better pick despite having 4 years less development time.

 

Check it out:

Hope that helps put 19 year old Kohl Stewart in perspective.

[darin617]

So does this mean that Kohl Stewart is being fast tracked to the big leagues faster since his K's are down and he must be pitching to more contact like the Twins like with their staff. ETA 2015.

[Brandon]

Kohl is also getting used to throwing lots more innings than he's used to. So its understandable if the Twins would want to be a little cautious with the use of his slider this season. I'm sure he is still on an innings limit this year.

[kab21]

His low K rate is worth noting but not worth being overly concerned about. I wish I would have gotten to see Kohl last week but I saw Eades instead.

 

IIRC in Taillon's 2nd year they took away his breaking ball and his K rate dropped to about where Stewart's is right now and he started K'ing hitters again. The other thing to note is that Stewart had an awful K rate in his first 3 games and it's been mostly better since then and I wouldn't be surprised to see it climb a little as the season goes on. I wouldn't be shocked if it was in the the 8-9 k/9 range for the rest of the season. And aside from one game Stewart has done well with BB's.

 

My optimism about Stewart is down perhaps 10% but it's early enough that could easily change.

[Steve Lein]

As far as I have read going back to before last year's draft, the slider is a real out pitch for Stewart, so it's probably safe to assume that it's a plus pitch. Perhaps the faithful in the community who are fully aware of his repertoire can confirm which of his pitches are plus or plus-plus?

 

Pretty sure Baseball America rated Stewart's slider as the best in the organization this year and every grade I've seen has it as at least "plus."

 

No idea if this is actually something they might take into account on how to use him now, but as a diabetic myself, I know those with the disease are more likely to develop issues with things like the shoulder. Since he has not thrown as much as your typical highly drafted pitcher, this may be a way of easing him into full season ball and strengthening his arm, while also limiting the chances of injury due to throwing a breaking ball so early in his career. I wouldn't read much into his stat line right now, which quite frankly, I find to be fantastic. Especially if he's not throwing that slider to put away batters.

[Twins Twerp]

Pretty sure Baseball America rated Stewart's slider as the best in the organization this year and every grade I've seen has it as at least "plus."

 

No idea if this is actually something they might take into account on how to use him now, but as a diabetic myself, I know those with the disease are more likely to develop issues with things like the shoulder. Since he has not thrown as much as your typical highly drafted pitcher, this may be a way of easing him into full season ball and strengthening his arm, while also limiting the chances of injury due to throwing a breaking ball so early in his career. I wouldn't read much into his stat line right now, which quite frankly, I find to be fantastic. Especially if he's not throwing that slider to put away batters.

Baseball Prospectus rated his slider as one of best in minors. It is a major league pitch right now.

[cmb0252]

I was lucky enough to catch one of Stewart's starts last year before he got drafted and was very impressed. I just don't understand putting so much value in under fifty minor league innings. Heck, I don't understand putting value in any minor league stats. The point of the minor leagues is to develop. As long as Stewart's stuff is still there and he is progressing as a pitcher I'm happy.

[Mike Sixel]

What if, instead of this track, they had him trying to dominate, and he did, and they called him up next year, because, as ESPN pointed out recently, arm injuries happen, and teams want their pitchers up sooner, rather than later.....It's not like this system has produced a lot of pitching talent, and their processes should be completely trusted.

[kab21]

What if, instead of this track, they had him trying to dominate, and he did, and they called him up next year, because, as ESPN pointed out recently, arm injuries happen, and teams want their pitchers up sooner, rather than later.....It's not like this system has produced a lot of pitching talent, and their processes should be completely trusted.

 

Additionally what happens if he dominates the minors with a devastating slider and an okay fastball. Garza did this to an extent with his fastball and it took years for teams to get him to offspeed stuff effectively.

[Badsmerf]

Baseball is about adapting. I almost guarantee the twins sat down and created a plan for Stewart. Developmentally and health-wise. I like this approach a lot. Who cares if he strikes out a few less batters for a season (or a few months... We don't know). If this approach works... I bet you anything teams around the league start doing it too. I wouldn't be surprised if it is already a talking point.

 

Pretty surprised by the negative reactions to this.

[nicksaviking]

If this approach works... I bet you anything teams around the league start doing it too. I wouldn't be surprised if it is already a talking point.

 

Pretty surprised by the negative reactions to this.

 

Well the negative reactions are basically just concerns, because as you noted, there's an IF regarding the success of the approach. It seems to be new. I think most of us are for inovative ideas, but if the ideas have very little in the way of a track record, our optimism is based more on faith than on proof. I like the approach, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't have concerns.

[tobi0040]

Baseball is about adapting. I almost guarantee the twins sat down and created a plan for Stewart. Developmentally and health-wise. I like this approach a lot. Who cares if he strikes out a few less batters for a season (or a few months... We don't know). If this approach works... I bet you anything teams around the league start doing it too. I wouldn't be surprised if it is already a talking point.

 

Pretty surprised by the negative reactions to this.

 

Agreed. The problem with developing a fastball and change in the low minors (when you have a plus slider) is you rely on the slider when you get in trouble. His ERA is in the 2.50 range, so I have no concerns and think we will have a better MLB pitcher in 2-3 years as a result.

[ashbury]

Heck, I don't understand putting value in any minor league stats.

 

Minor league stats viewed broadly have shown a lot of predictive power. They were a reason for instance to expect Escobar to hit better this year than Florimon, not that Escobar's likely going to continue the current torrid pace.

 

The point of the minor leagues is to develop.

 

True, but essentially every minor league player plays under this same constraint, so again the stats that accrue can have meaning. The dreaded Small Sample Size of course obscures meaning.

 

/ I don't really want to sidetrack this thread so if much response is called for let's take to a new thread