Is Brock Stewart Underappreciated?

[Cody Pirkl]

Image courtesy of © Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

 

Brock Stewart has put up incredible numbers in a Twins uniform in a limited sample in between injuries. During his first two seasons, his unexpected dominance was a constant topic of discussion. His third year in Minnesota got off to a delayed start, but he’s been the same bullpen weapon so far as we’ve seen at his best in recent years. And yet, it feels like Brock Stewart is being underappreciated.

The Twins' pitching staff has been the carrying force of the Twins' roster. The lineup has been mediocre at best, and despite the starting rotation's dominance, the bullpen has matched them every step of the way. The relief corps is headed by well-known names such as Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, with Louis Varland emerging as the fireman in his first full season as a reliever. This is likely the three-headed monster that most attention focuses on when considering the 4th best bullpen ERA in all of baseball, but for some time now, Stewart has been every bit as dominant as any one of these three.

 

Stewart wasn’t ready to go on Opening Day following a shoulder procedure in the offseason, and a hamstring injury further delayed his debut. When he did return, he posted back-to-back outings in which he gave up multiple runs, something we weren’t accustomed to seeing from Stewart in his Twins tenure. Given his extensive injury history and rocky start, it would have been fair to wonder whether his latest health struggles might affect his performance. He’s emphatically answered that question since then.

On May 3, Stewart allowed two earned runs against Boston while recording just one out. Since that appearance, he’s made twelve appearances and has allowed just one run. His ERA on the season sits at 2.93. While his fastball is down over a whole tick, he’s still struck out over 36% of the opposing hitters he’s faced. His walk rate is better than it was in 2023 when he posted a sub-1.00 ERA. This is peak Brock Stewart.

Because of the dominance of the trio at the top of the Twins’ bullpen hierarchy, it’s felt like Stewart’s bounceback has flown under the radar. Mix in names like Cole Sands and Danny Coulombe, and we haven’t seen quite as much Stewart in high leverage as we have in years past.

In addition to the wealth of other options in save or setup situations, the Twins are also managing Stewart very closely. For as aggressive as they’ve been with most of the bullpen, Stewart has yet to record more than three outs in an outing and has pitched on back-to-back days only three times. After missing the end of the last two seasons, the Twins have a plan to try to keep Stewart healthy. This is perfectly reasonable, as this version of Stewart could be heavily leaned on in October despite the team’s lack of doing so in the regular season. 

Don’t let the late start to the season or the glut of other dominant relief options distract you from the fact that Stewart is once again a force at the back end of games in 2025. This season has been an extension of the dominant Stewart that emerged in 2023 when the Twins called him up. During that time, he’s thrown just under 59 innings with a 2.50 ERA and has struck out over one-third of opposing hitters. He’s continued his reputation of being dominant when healthy, and the Twins are taking steps to keep him on the field. 

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Should we be more appreciative of Brock Stewart? Have his season-ending injuries over the last two years affected how he’s perceived? Let us know below!

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[Parfigliano]

Yes very under appreciated.

[Major League Ready]

I have always been a supporter of Stewart.  He just does not stay on the field enough to be fully appreciated.  His K/9 over his tenure with the Twins is the highest on the team at 12.43.  Duran 11.42 and Jax 11.52.  His ERA 2.45.  Duran 2.61 and Jax 3.14 since 2023.  Let's hope Stewart can stay healthy.

[D.C Twins]

Not by me...

[LambchoP]

Twins pen has been great this year. Adams replacing Funderburk was a smart move. Now we have a long man who can piggyback short starts from Zebby or Festa. Coloumbe had a great rehab appearance yesterday. Hopefully he's ready soon and replaces Alcala. That would complete our pen and give us not a single liability out there. Then we just have to worry about our rotation and offense.

[jimbo92107]

He's a secret ingredient, but you have just an ounce of it. 

[Guest]

I do not know as I have not studied his secondary and tertiary numbers are. Of course we can not just look at how he is doing, but need to see how his future numbers will be doing, sometime, somewhere. Perhaps there is advanced, advanced analytics that can tell us how he would do in an alternate time and alternate universe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The previous comments are provided by an unstable idiot frustrated by yet another loss to the Blue Jays.  Please disregard. Thank you.

[mikelink45]

No

[DocBauer]

He's not under appreciated by this fan at all! He's an important part of the pen, and I want the Twins to use him and nurse him the best they can.

Duran, Jax, Varland, Stewart, Sands, and Coulombe are an awfully good 6. Topa has been pretty solid as a middle guy. The only weak spot is the enigmatic Alcala. A good Alcala is damn good. A bad Alcala is pretty damn bad. 

At some point they are going to have to make a hard decision on Alcala. Are they better off biting the bullet and let him go elsewhere...where he might turn a corner, who knows...and acquire someone else at the deadline, OR, use that last spot for Adams, and whoever, and roll through options until you find that 8th guy who can STICK. 

A couple blown games here and there happens to all pens, not just the Twins. It happens. But Stewart is absolutely a part of a really good pen.

[David Maro]

He has looked good of late,but with his history of injuries its hard to know for how long. If he had only one time being unavailable we would be thinking differently.

[KirbyDome89]

28, 16, 15. Those are his IP each season, the last number being to date. 

No, he's not underappreciated in the least.