Christin Stewart entered this season as the No. 10 prospect in the Tigers organization. His fast start for the Mud Hens to start 2018 has done nothing to diminish that status.
In his first 30 games with Toledo he has hit .303 with eight homers and 24 RBIs. His home run against Columbus on Wednesday night gives him sole possession of first place in the International League in home runs, and he is second in RBIs while also ranking among the league leaders in hits (33, third) slugging percentage (.606, second), total bases (66, first) and extra-base hits (16, first).
VIDEO: A look from the side at Christin Stewart hitting
This at-bat came in the second inning of Wednesday’s game against Columbus and resulted in a strikeout.
Vital statistics: Christin Gaylin Harris Stewart was born on Dec. 10, 1993, and is 24 years old. He stands 6-0 and weighs 205 pounds. He is originally from Atlanta and attended the University of Tennessee. He was drafted by the Tigers in the first round of the 2015 draft (34th pick overall).
Hitting style: Stewart is a typical left-handed hitter in that he likes to hit “low” pitches, often golfing them for moonshots over the fence. That has resulted in some long home runs this season, including a shot into the patio above The Roost in the win over Durham during the first homestand of the season.
But Stewart can drive pitches in all quadrants of the strike zone, with a good example of that coming in the bottom of the eighth inning of Wednesday’s contest against Columbus at Fifth Third Field. After taking an outside fastball from Clippers reliever Ben Taylor, Stewart slammed a high inside fastball on a sharp line drive into The Roost for a game-winning 3-run homer.
The home runs are eye-catching, for certain. But Stewart’s ability to take that tough outside pitch consistently this season has caught the eye of Mud Hens manager Doug Mientkiewicz.
“He doesn’t chase pitches in the way big-league hitters don’t chase,” Mientkiewicz said of Stewart. “He could hit in the big leagues right now.
“He doesn’t chase down. He does chase some balls that are up, but a lot of hitters do. And when he does hit the ball, it carries.”
VIDEO: A look from behind home plate of Christin Stewart batting
This at-bat came in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s contest against Columbus and resulted in a groundout to first base.
Results: While his power numbers have been good to start this season, the most impressive statistic on Stewart’s early resume may be he has just 21 strikeouts in 105 at-bats. While that 20 percent whiff rate may seem poor, it is a significant improvement over his 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 2016 and his 28.4 percent rate last season.
Stewart’s 12 walks in 125 plate appearances to start this season gives him a walk rate of 9.6 percent, which is consistent with last season in Erie (10.1 percent) but short of his 12 percent career mark. It’s not far enough away to cause concern, though.
And while Stewart’s current batting average seems high, it is not out of line with his career numbers. His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) with the Mud Hens this season is at .309, which is not significantly better than his mark last season in Erie (.294) nor his career average (.304).
Also, Stewart deserves credit for his work to improve his defense. There are times when the routes are uneven and the jumps are late, but Stewart is not bad. If he gets to a ball, he catches it. His outfield defense is not nearly as bad as some previous leftfielders at Fifth Third Field in recent seasons, such as Ryan Strieby, Nicolas Castellanos, and Steven Moya.
Contact John Wagner at jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481, or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.
First Published May 10, 2018, 4:00 p.m.
