Quote Originally Posted by redsof72 View Post
Looked it up. Sickels actually wrote that on December 6, 2008, when Stewart had two months of pro experience. So it did not factor in ANY of what Stewart did in 2009.

It is pretty well documented that the Reds offered Alonso in this deal but Toronto insisted on Stewart. If the Reds felt that Alonso was the better prospect (and Toronto did as well), that would be a rather odd way to go about it.
Ok, I know you aren't responding to me, but I make a simliar point.
You say the B- is based on only 2 months experience, but then another 1/2 season should jack him up to an A+, or best prospect in the system? That doesn't seem right either.

He was definitley not the top prospect in the Reds system? Was he the top pitching prospect, maybe.. but that's faint praise when the competition is Darryl Thompson and Lotzar. That's like saying Mo Stanford and Acevado were once the Reds' top pitching prospects. That is a true statement, but it really doesn't mean much due to the dearth of pitching in the minors when they were ranked.

So.. none of the experts thought much of Stewart before the 2009 season. The Reds didn't see him as a starter (since he was moved to the AAA pen). The Reds really didn't flinch at trading him.. And now we have the benefit of hindsight to see that he flopped so far. All the evidence seems to point to Stewart being vastly overrated on this board.
Stewart put together a nice first half in 2009.. but look at the IP.. 42 IP in A, 37 IP in AA, and 12 IP in AAA.. Seems like it was screaming small sample size.
After he was traded, his minor league numbers regressed.
Looks like Walt timed it perfectly.