Stewart; How many innings?

[bellhead]

That is the question. I say 100 and shut him down.

He is the top prospect in the minors right now. We have to strengthen his arm, and he needs innings as he is not a reliever anymore. But we cannot take a chance with his arm.

[fearofpopvol1]

Some have speculated 120. Don't know though on this one.

[Blitz Dorsey]

I don't want him babied too much, but I see what you're saying. I'd probably agree with 120. But he was a college pitcher who always played the college season and then played a full season of summer ball. I'm not sure how many innings he's thrown in the past, but he's a grown man that can handle 120-130 innings this year IMO.

[Mario-Rijo]

I can't recall the exact rule of thumb but I think it's 30-40 innings more than the previous year which if true would put him somewhere in the 110-120 range. If they move some guys around later in the season maybe they can use him in the pen somewhere to maximize his usage. Maybe another 2-3 starts no more than 6 IP and then make him a closer for the rest of the year one IP at a time.

[dougdirt]

I can't recall the exact rule of thumb but I think it's 30-40 innings more than the previous year which if true would put him somewhere in the 110-120 range. If they move some guys around later in the season maybe they can use him in the pen somewhere to maximize his usage. Maybe another 2-3 starts no more than 6 IP and then make him a closer for the rest of the year one IP at a time.

Its usually 30 innings, but only added onto your previous high. Stewart was a starter in JC, unfortunately I can't find out how many he threw in JC, so we may be working with a different number than we should be in terms of adding 30 innings to his arm.

[GIDP]

Yea Doug I've searched to find out the innings also and have failed every attempt.

[GIDP]

Actually I remember now that I did find this.
https://www.njcaa.org/colleges_colle...collegeid=1305
91 innings in 07.

[Blitz Dorsey]

But again, don't forget that in addition to the amount of innings that Stewart threw while in junior college, he also played summer baseball while in school. All college players also play summer ball since the college season ends so early. So, if he threw 91 innings in '07, I bet you can tack on about 30 more to that at least due to summer ball.

[GIDP]

Honestly Id just keep him around 75-80 pitches and throw him until he hits 120 innings.

[medford]

agreed w/ others here, aim for about 120-130 innings, the rest all in AA (of course w/ the lineup they could keep around for the 2nd half, what do you do when the playoffs start?)

Then next season, assuming he keeps progressing like he has, or basically doesn't fall off the table, I'd aim for about 150-160 in AAA next year, then the following season he should be prepared for 180-200 innings in the majors assuming he can lock down a spot.

[Scrap Irony]

I'd stretch him to 150 innings, assuming his pitch counts don't hit more than 90-95 pitches per game.

[NC Reds]

I would pitch him in relief in an extra inning game on two or three days rest.

- Dusty Baker

[nemesis]

I think it should be more about how many pitches he throws. Keep him at 75 to 90 per start and let him pitch until the season is over. If that is 120 or 145... so be it. Just keep him on that pitch count.

[mbgrayson]

From Baseball Prospectus:

Verducci Effect

Named for Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, this is a negative forward indicator for pitcher workload. Verducci, who called this the 'Year After Effect,' found that pitchers under the age of 25 who have 30-inning increases year over year tend to underperform. Will Carroll independently found that pitchers who break the "Rule of 30" tend to get injured. Carroll renamed this 'rule' the Verducci Effect in honor of the man who initially found the evidence.