Zach Stewart - Starting Pitcher?

[LoganBuck]

Has Stewart shortened his delivery any? When I saw him at Dayton last year, I came away thinking he was a bigger, better Scott Williamson. Without the extra torque motion that Scott needed, but his breaking ball was in the same category. They tried him as a starter in college, and had to be moved back to the bullpen because of lack of success. Are we dealing with a short sample, bad competition, or a star blooming? He has the stuff, I have seen him DOMINATE A ball hitters out of the bullpen, but I just wonder how it will transition to starting over a season.

[dougdirt]

Has Stewart shortened his delivery any? When I saw him at Dayton last year, I came away thinking he was a bigger, better Scott Williamson. Without the extra torque motion that Scott needed, but his breaking ball was in the same category. They tried him as a starter in college, and had to be moved back to the bullpen because of lack of success. Are we dealing with a short sample, bad competition, or a star blooming? He has the stuff, I have seen him DOMINATE A ball hitters out of the bullpen, but I just wonder how it will transition to starting over a season.

Stewart was actually a good starter in JC, but struggled in 3 starts at Texas Tech and was put back in the bullpen. While we obviously are working with a small sample size of two months worth of starts here, his time at Texas Tech is even smaller of a sample size.

[GIDP]

what JC did he go to?

[camisadelgolf]

what JC did he go to?

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/playe...-Stewart.shtml
North Central Texas College

Ex-Red farmhand, Calvin Medlock, also went there--but not at the same time.

[11larkin11]

I think from now on his how we judge Stewart as a starter. He has thrown as many innings now as he did last year in college/A-/A+. From here on, we'll see how his arm holds up.

[schmidty622]

If Stewart remains a starter does he surpass Bailey as the most heralded arm in the system? From what I’ve read about him he seems to have the stuff and velocity to be successful and has a firm grasp on finer art of pitching. Where does he rank on everyone’s organizational depth chart/rankings?

[fearofpopvol1]

If Stewart remains a starter does he surpass Bailey as the most heralded arm in the system? From what I’ve read about him he seems to have the stuff and velocity to be successful and has a firm grasp on finer art of pitching. Where does he rank on everyone’s organizational depth chart/rankings?

No, not yet. At this time last year, Thompson was that guy as he was doing extremely well at AA. He has to prove more before he earns that title. Bailey was mowing down guys over a double digit amount of starts at AA when he was annointed that guy.

[bucksfan2]

Nolan Ryan was fastball/curve most of his career. Towards the end he added a changeup. I think if you have two very good pitches and you know how to pitch and not just throw you can have alot of success with two pitches. Obviously if you have 3 good ones or even 4 thats even better.

My buddy told me the other day that Nolan Ryan, as team president of the Rangers, said the Rangers were doing away with strict pitching limits in the minors. It will be interesting to see how that works out because it goes against most current beliefs and organization philosophies.

Back to Stewart. It will be interesting to see how the org handles his development, especially if they intend on making him a starter. Do they limit his innings and push the MLB timeline back until 2011? Do they allow him to throw more innings? or do they shut him down early? If the Reds think he could be MLB ready by late next season there is a way to limit his innings in the minors by only allowing him to pitch 5 innings per game. They can say hell with the current system and allow him to build up innings the old fashion way.

[OnBaseMachine]

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus on Zach Stewart:

Stewart might be one of the better sleepers around really. His stuff is pretty impressive.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ar...articleid=8947

[OnBaseMachine]

Another nice start tonight by Stewart. His numbers since his promotion to AA:

23 IP, 15 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 22 K, 2.31 GO/FO, 0.39 ERA.

Combined numbers between Sarasota and Carolina:

65.1 IP, 62 H, 1 HR, 14 BB, 54 K, 2.38 GO/FO, 1.52 ERA

And really, those numbers are a bit deceiving. He gave up a bunch of hits and didn't really strikeout many hitters in his first few starts as he was stretching his arm out, but he has continued to get better with each start. The hits are decreasing and the strikeouts are increasing. He's racking up plenty of groundballs and strikeouts and he's efficient with his pitches. In my opinion, he's the best starting pitching prospect in the Reds system as he just edges out Juan Carlos Sulbaran. With a plus fastball and plus slider and improving changeup, he's got a chance to be top-of-rotation starter, IMO.

[Mario-Rijo]

Another nice start tonight by Stewart. His numbers since his promotion to AA:

23 IP, 15 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 22 K, 2.31 GO/FO, 0.39 ERA.

Combined numbers between Sarasota and Carolina:

65.1 IP, 62 H, 1 HR, 14 BB, 54 K, 2.38 GO/FO, 1.52 ERA

And really, those numbers are a bit deceiving. He gave up a bunch of hits and didn't really strikeout many hitters in his first few starts as he was stretching his arm out, but he has continued to get better with each start. The hits are decreasing and the strikeouts are increasing. He's racking up plenty of groundballs and strikeouts and he's efficient with his pitches. In my opinion, he's the best starting pitching prospect in the Reds system as he just edges out Juan Carlos Sulbaran. With a plus fastball and plus slider and improving changeup, he's got a chance to be top-of-rotation starter, IMO.

I'd agree I think he is now the best starter prospect we have (and I still consider Homer a prospect). I'd also agree that at this moment JC Sulbaran is #2 Lotzkar could supplant them someday if he could ever get healthy. Obviously that goes for Buck as well. At least until Tuesday evening.

[icehole3]

after Maloney's start, Im ready to put him a shade behind Sulbaran, I was very impressed with Maloney's changeup because it made his fastball look very fast. I hope Soto's teaching every kid the changeup, its making these guys fastball look very very good.

[OnBaseMachine]

From a Baseball America chat:

Daniel (Chicago): Is Zach Stewart a SP or a RP long-term? If he's put in the bullpen, could he be a closer?

J.J. Cooper: My guess is he's a starter. He has three pitches and he maintains his velocity. Starters are more valuable than relievers and he's shown he can do both. But then there is the question of whether there will be a spot in the Reds rotation anytime soon. With Bailey showing he may have figured it out, the Reds have Volquez, Bailey, Arroyo, Cueto, Owings and Harang under contract for 2010 already.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/?1247246413

[Benihana]

From a Baseball America chat:

Daniel (Chicago): Is Zach Stewart a SP or a RP long-term? If he's put in the bullpen, could he be a closer?

J.J. Cooper: My guess is he's a starter. He has three pitches and he maintains his velocity. Starters are more valuable than relievers and he's shown he can do both. But then there is the question of whether there will be a spot in the Reds rotation anytime soon. With Bailey showing he may have figured it out, the Reds have Volquez, Bailey, Arroyo, Cueto, Owings and Harang under contract for 2010 already.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/?1247246413

Along with Wood and hopefully Leake, Stewart should be in the mix for a spot in the 2011 rotation (not 2010.)

I'd like to see him continue to gain experience as a starter in Louisville for the first couple months of next season. Assuming he continues to have success, he would be a good candidate to ease into the majors through the bullpen- perhaps in the 2nd half of 2010. If everything goes to plan, he should be ready for a full-time spot in the Reds rotation by 2011.

[Scrap Irony]

That would also protect his arm to some extent, Beni. Depending on what happens with Harang and the other major league starters with high price tags, I'd be okay with Stewart as the erstwhile ace (or #2) in AAA or as a middle reliever in the majors for 2010. There are a ton of young middle infielders in Cincinnati's system that need to be sorted out right now, though.