Kohl Stewart gets his first taste of the Major Leagues Sunday against the Detroit Tigers.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Kohl Stewart, the fourth overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, is in Detroit and will make his Major League debut Sunday when he starts against the Tigers.
Stewart was at a breakfast restaurant with his visiting parents in Rochester, N.Y., where he's been playing with the Triple-A Red Wings since the beginning of July, when he got a phone call from the Twins.
The Twins have not made the official roster move yet. Adalberto Mejia would have taken his turn in the rotation Sunday, but was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left wrist strain.
Stewart's road to the Majors has been an unsteady one.
He dealt with a shoulder injury two years ago and had left knee tendinitis that was "killing me" last season. Between the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Stewart made four trips to the disabled list.
"I never felt like myself, and I couldn't figure it out," said Stewart, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Twins' No. 28 prospect. "I was trying to pitch through it and maybe made some mistakes there. But some of those things you can't control, and sometimes you probably have to look at the way you're training, and I had to make some changes and give myself an opportunity to stay healthy for a full season."
Along with getting healthy, Stewart made some adjustments on the mound. He talked with the staff during Spring Training, and they decided to transition from a two-seam to a one-seam grip on his fastball. They also determined he needed to dial back on his fastball usage. The difference is not only in Stewart's confidence, but in the numbers. His groundout-to-flyout rate, for example, was a career-best 2.22 in the Minors this season.
Manager Paul Molitor said Stewart had been on their radar in the past, but his up-and-down performance kept him out of the Majors. Molitor said the consistency is finally there now, and Stewart agreed.
"I didn't ever feel like I was really ready to do it until some starts this year where I was feeling like I was getting more confident," Stewart said. " … I feel like I'm more ready now than I ever have been."
-- Source: MLB.com
Tigers defeat Twins and Stewart, 4-2
Kohl Stewart took the loss in his major league debut, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings. He started his career with four scoreless innings, but after he got the first out in the fifth, the next five batters reached base.
Stewart, who pitched for the Lookouts in the past three seasons, received a call-up to Triple-A Rochester on June 28.
photo by Tim Evearitt