Article: Get to Know: Kohl Stewart

[Seth Stohs]

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php/2752-Get-to-Know-Kohl-Stewart

[Larsbars08]

I hope that they push him to Cedar Rapids in June, or whenever they are planning to unleash him. I'd be okay if he went to E-Town, only if he is going to be promoted very quickly if he shows he can handle it. I know that he had only one outing in E-Town, but it seems like it'd be beneficial for him to follow Berrios' path so far.

[gunnarthor]

Nice write up Seth. Hopefully he has a big year for us and moves quickly.

[tobi0040]

It would be very nice to see a good college pitcher drop to us at #5 and have Kohl and the college pitcher come up about the same time. Having a Sano-Buxton combo of two pitchers would be great.

 

I am not advocating we take a college pitcher just to take one, but it would be fun to follow.

[Butterfingers8]

Seth,

 

what reason(s) do you have for continuing to assert that he will not start in Cedar Rapids? They started J.O.in Cedar Rapids last year and he was drafted much later than Stewart. I do not understand why the twins would push berrios and not Stewart who is by far the better prospect.

[Siehbiscuit]

@Butterfingers8, I may not be Seth, but to me I don't think the term "push" is the right word to use here. The Twins have always been notoriously slow with advancing prospects. Berrios proved in short-season right away that he was far advanced and was ready to handle much more. They moved him to CR because he was ready to pitch there. Stewart is probably ready and could do great things there, but arm fatigue and developing nonslider related pitches comes into this as well. Berrios may be (speculation) further along in his development than Stewart even though Stewart's upside is much greater. Stewart, IMO, needs to develop at his pace, not the Berrios pace or any one else's. His situation and his future (selfishly our future as fans) shouldn't be pushed because of where he was drafted. We need this kid to be a gem for us and he may require a longer time to cut and polish, but that is because he is a 10 carat stone (Stewart) and not a 2 carat (Berrios).

[Butterfingers8]

I know low minor league numbers don't mean much, but Stewart and Berrios had remarkably similar numbers in rookie ball. I would just like to see Stewart up against some competition that might challenge him. If he struggles that may help him grow anyways, he has to learn to fail so when he is up against major league pitchers and they hit him around a bit, he can deal with it.

[Seth Stohs]

Berrios didn't go up to Cedar Rapids for the first three weeks of the season. Berrios was also considered a little more advanced/polished. Also, don't forget that Stewart was shut down last year and missed a couple of ETown starts and didn't throw at Instructional League. They are going to be cautious with him because he's so talented.

 

Does it matter if he goes to Cedar Rapids April 4th or May 15th?

[tobi0040]

Berrios didn't go up to Cedar Rapids for the first three weeks of the season. Berrios was also considered a little more advanced/polished. Also, don't forget that Stewart was shut down last year and missed a couple of ETown starts and didn't throw at Instructional League. They are going to be cautious with him because he's so talented.

 

Does it matter if he goes to Cedar Rapids April 4th or May 15th?

 

I don't think it much matters. If he is tinkering with his pitches than E Town for a few starts should be fine.

[Butterfingers8]

It probably doesn't really matter where he starts, to be honest, i'm really just being selfish and want to be able to check his box scores every 6 days or so.

[Siehbiscuit]

I want Kohl to protect his arm, period. Throwing a football around is so much less taxing on the shoulder and elbow than is throwing a baseball. With his talent and upside being so great I do not care if we have to wait till he is 24 or 25 to see the big leagues. I just want to see him reach his potential for at least 6 years as a Twin. The last thing anyone wants is to see him breakdown.

[Seth Stohs]

I want Kohl to protect his arm, period. Throwing a football around is so much less taxing on the shoulder and elbow than is throwing a baseball. With his talent and upside being so great I do not care if we have to wait till he is 24 or 25 to see the big leagues. I just want to see him reach his potential for at least 6 years as a Twin. The last thing anyone wants is to see him breakdown.

 

I agree completely.