[M2]

Prior to 2010 Sickels moved Stewart up to a B+ and said "could be a number two starter or closer, only role is unclear." Sickels listed him the #17 overall pitching prospect in MLB, right between Mike Montgomery and Kyle Drabek, both of whom have also turned out to be severe disappointments. To be fair, roughly 80% of his Top 50 list has either flopped or is still kicking around in the minors. So Stewart's got plenty of company in terms of arms who haven't lived up to the hype.

BA initially listed Stewart as the Blue Jays' top prospect after 2009, though it moved him down to 4th when the Jays traded for Brett Wallace, Drabek and Travis D'Arnaud during the winter. Ultimately Stewart did not make BA's top 100, which clearly demonstrates that BA did not consider him to be all that compelling a prospect (the Reds had Chapman, Frazier, Alonso and Leake on that list). So BA looks like it had it right that he was a so-so prospect.

I've got no problem with the notion of trying him as a reliever in AAA, but Jocketty cashed him in at the exact right time and there clearly was some widespread skepticism about whether he could become a quality major leaguer.