Brock Stewart Dominating the Path Less Traveled

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Minnesota Twins have one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball, and while it may be their closer who gets most of the accolades, it’s a setup man who came out of nowhere who’s been the greatest success story. What Brock Stewart has done in a Twins uniform is hard to fathom, and harder to hit.

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Since taking over as leader of the Minnesota Twins front office, Derek Falvey has largely pieced together bullpens for manager Rocco Baldelli. Focusing on players with upside, and those considered to be on the fringes, Falvey has rarely spent heavily on relief pitching. Maybe that’s because the one time he did, with Addison Reed, it went sideways. Maybe it’s because he’s had such a strong record of success in identifying players who could provide just a bit more.

On Nov. 7, 2021, Brock Stewart elected free agency, rather than sticking with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization that made him a sixth-round pick back in 2014. Stewart had been a collegiate starter out of Illinois State, and it took a bit for him to find his groove. By 2016, however, he was turning heads at Triple-A, and he made his big league debut later that season. Pitching sporadically at the major-league level for the next four seasons, he struggled to find consistent success.

In the pandemic chaos of 2020, Stewart was never called upon. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021. That combination effected a long lacuna in his pro track record, but there was still something there. On Jul. 14, 2022, the Twins signed Stewart while he was rehabbing from surgery and assigned him to their Complex League team. Seeing something they thought was moldable, Minnesota opted to oversee his recovery and find out what they had to work with.

Stewart wound up pitching 14 innings in the Twins system in 2022, and while he showed signs of good strikeout stuff while limiting walks as a reliever, he was tagged for four home runs. According to conventional wisdom, command is one of the last things to return post-Tommy John surgery, and that seemed to coincide with pitch placement for Stewart.

With the Dodgers, Stewart leaned heavily on a fastball that sat in the low 90s. He had a slider that he didn’t use much, and then he would turn to a changeup that was largely a get-me-over pitch. The Twins tweaked that arsenal and (as they have often done for pitchers) added velocity. Once they had him pumping 97 mph fastballs (albeit a bit less often), they scrapped the changeup and added in a cutter. The slider still exists, but is a better pitch now with more sweeper-like action, and the cutter is thrown harder than the old fastball was. As a whole, the new Stewart arsenal constitutes an absolute weapon out of the bullpen.

In 41 innings for Minnesota over the past two seasons, Stewart has struck out a ridiculous 56 hitters while allowing a total of three runs. In 2024, he has generated a career-best chase rate, and his whiff rate remains dazzling. He’s filling up the zone and getting ahead more than ever, and he has become an imposing part of one of baseball's best bullpen triumvirates.

What Stewart is doing is not normal. Not only has he become the best version of himself after leaving affiliated baseball and undergoing major surgery, but it isn’t just a reinvention or quirky delivery that’s getting him by. He has put in the work to become an overpowering arm who gets on opposing batters and imposes his will on them. His four-seamer really doesn't have great shape, by modern stuff metrics, but it's hard enough to set up the sweeper, the cutter, and an exceptionally heavy sinker.

There’s no doubt Rocco Baldelli feels comfortable with Jhoan Durán closing down games, but we have seen plenty of evidence that Griffin Jax and Stewart are on an equal plane. It’s not often that the number-two or -three leverage guys grab the accolades throughout the season, and a guy nicknamed Beef Stew probably isn’t looking for them, anyway.

Regardless, the quality of Minnesota’s bullpen is as much about the top arms as it is the depth. They have guys who can get outs throughout the group, and there should almost never be a reason to fear while Stewart is here. For a guy signed to a minor-league deal, and who is not a free agent until the 2028 season, the Twins may never had this much juice from a squeeze ever before.

View full article

[wabene]

That sweeper-2 seamer overlay is ridiculous.

[Doctor Gast]

Steward is a great find, a diamond in the rough, a great high-leverage RP to go along with Duran, Jax & Thielbar.  We started this off-season with one of the top BP in baseball. Yet FO had to show that they did something by adding more. With a set BP & a great recipe to find & create BP arms, it wasn't necessary. Now we have a glut with very capable Alcala & Varland wasting their bullets in AAA.

[TopGunn#22]

Nice article Ted, and I always appreciate the random word here or there for vocabulary purposes.  In this case "lacuna" which means "a blank space or missing part."  Nicely done !!

I remember when Brock Stewart was an up and coming starter in the Dodgers system, but who never really cleared the hurdle to become a part of their rotation.  When he was throwing absolute gas out of the pen last year, I wondered how the Dodgers could ever let an arm like his get away.  You've answered that question.

How guys can go from throwing 92-93 to 97-98 like Stewart is remarkable to me.  The MLB Players Union wants to blame all these pitcher injuries on the pitch clock being sped up.  Anyone who ever watched Bob Gibson or Jim Kaat work knows that theory is nonsense.

I'm sure the "Max Effort" on every pitch philosophy is at the center of these arm issues but that doesn't change how I marvel at Brock Stewart just coming in and blowing guys away each opportunity he's given.  I don't know how long Stewart can keep this up, but he's a guy who has my confidence level WAY UP whenever he comes into a game.   

[arby58]

4 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Steward is a great find, a diamond in the rough, a great high-leverage RP to go along with Duran, Jax & Thielbar.  We started this off-season with one of the top BP in baseball. Yet FO had to show that they did something by adding more. With a set BP & a great recipe to find & create BP arms, it wasn't necessary. Now we have a glut with very capable Alcala & Varland wasting their bullets in AAA.

This reminds me of the farmers in my family who 50 percent of the time complain that there isn't enough rain and  complain the other 50 percent of the time that there is too much rain.

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

17 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

  When he was throwing absolute gas out of the pen last year, I wondered how the Dodgers could ever let an arm like his get away. 

The same way the Twins let Graterol go to the Dodgers.

[Major League Ready]

19 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Steward is a great find, a diamond in the rough, a great high-leverage RP to go along with Duran, Jax & Thielbar.  We started this off-season with one of the top BP in baseball. Yet FO had to show that they did something by adding more. With a set BP & a great recipe to find & create BP arms, it wasn't necessary. Now we have a glut with very capable Alcala & Varland wasting their bullets in AAA.

Ever heard the saying you can never have too much pitching?

[TopGunn#22]

No, that's different Tar Heel.  We TRADED Graterol (reluctantly) to get a guy for our rotation (Maeda) who gave us some very good return on the trade.  

[terrydactyls]

10 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

The same way the Twins let Graterol go to the Dodgers.

And they didn't get just Maeda but the Twins also got Jair Camargo.  He may show up at target field this year.

[bean5302]

18 minutes ago, arby58 said:

This reminds me of the farmers in my family who 50 percent of the time complain that there isn't enough rain and  complain the other 50 percent of the time that there is too much rain.

 

Hahaha, it's true. I started using the newly created word droughd. Combo drought/flood since there's never in history been a weather condition in between that.

[bean5302]

Appreciate the background on Stewart. I didn't expect much out of him when we picked him up, and I doubted him for a good portion of his time last year. The guy is just a monster out of the 'pen. Hopefully his UCL can hang in there for the Twins and what will eventually be an enormous pay day for him.

[Doctor Gast]

1 hour ago, TopGunn#22 said:

Nice article Ted, and I always appreciate the random word here or there for vocabulary purposes.  In this case "lacuna" which means "a blank space or missing part."  Nicely done !!

I remember when Brock Stewart was an up and coming starter in the Dodgers system, but who never really cleared the hurdle to become a part of their rotation.  When he was throwing absolute gas out of the pen last year, I wondered how the Dodgers could ever let an arm like his get away.  You've answered that question.

How guys can go from throwing 92-93 to 97-98 like Stewart is remarkable to me.  The MLB Players Union wants to blame all these pitcher injuries on the pitch clock being sped up.  Anyone who ever watched Bob Gibson or Jim Kaat work knows that theory is nonsense.

I'm sure the "Max Effort" on every pitch philosophy is at the center of these arm issues but that doesn't change how I marvel at Brock Stewart just coming in and blowing guys away each opportunity he's given.  I don't know how long Stewart can keep this up, but he's a guy who has my confidence level WAY UP whenever he comes into a game.   

Good job TopGun, Anyone coming out of the Dodgers system is worthy to take a 2nd look. Steward was well worth the chance. 

[Doctor Gast]

27 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Ever heard the saying you can never have too much pitching?

Very true. My point is I'd rather have them stick to the system that landed Steward & they can control so high quality arms aren't blocked & that the focus could be better used somewhere else. But I don't want to get too far off topic.

[LambchoP]

He could be a closer on any other team. I'd like to see him in the 8th inning more rather than Jax or Theilbar though. If Varland gets put back in the pen we just may have the best bullpen in the game...

[wabene]

Steward really brings the bacon!

[Parfigliano]

Im not a big Falvey fan but I will say he done good with Stewart.

[Jeff K]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

The same way the Twins let Graterol go to the Dodgers.

Remember Maeda?

[arby58]

5 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Im not a big Falvey fan but I will say he done good with Stewart.

He also got Duran as part of the Escobar trade, Ryan for a few months of Nelson Cruz, and also did a successful reclamation project on Thielbar. SI in 2023 named the Ryan deal the best trade of the 2017-2023 era, and the Duran deal also in the top 10.

[TopGunn#22]

Wow, we just can't have good things.  This article drops, and now Stewart is on the I.L.  Funderburk just recalled to replace him.  Makes me wonder AGAIN about Max Effort every pitch.  You know, Goose Gossage sure looked like he was giving Max Effort every time he threw, but he had a long and successful career.  But every arm, shoulder and elbow just isn't built that way.  

[Patzky]

And.. the IL. Sigh.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

On 5/3/2024 at 9:21 AM, tarheeltwinsfan said:

The same way the Twins let Graterol go to the Dodgers.

O come on you dissenters. You must see the humor here, don't you? :)