On June 6, 2014, the Dodgers selected right-hander Brock Stewart in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Illinois State University. He was very excited to be a Dodger.
…until he wasn’t.
On July 31, 2019, the (then) 27-year-old Normal, IL native was snatched off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.
…until he wasn’t.
On December 12, 2019, he was snatched up by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule-5 Draft.
…until he wasn’t.
On May 28, 2020, he was released by the Cubs.
…until he wasn’t.
According to a reliable source, on Friday, December 11, 2020, the extremely popular right-hander was again a Dodger.
That source?
Himself.
Stewart made his professional debut with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer Rookie League in 2014, where he appeared in 17 games (one start), posting a 3–2 record and 3.41 ERA.
He began the 2015 season with the Great Lakes Loons of the (then) Low Single-A Midwest League but was promoted to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the (then) Advanced Single-A California League.
Stewart returned to the Quakes to begin the 2016 season but was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers during the season. Despite his promotion to Triple-A OKC, Stewart was named to the 2016 Double-A Texas League All-Star game and was later named the Dodgers 2016 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Between the three minor league levels in 2016, he was 9–4 with a 1.79 ERA, with 129 strikeouts in 21 starts.
Stewart was called up to The Show on June 29, 2016, to start for the Dodgers against the Milwaukee Brewers.
It did not go well.
He allowed five runs in the second inning and lost the game. He struck out seven and allowed eight hits in his five innings of work.
‘Stew’ (as his teammates and friends call him) finally recorded his first major league win on September 7 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing only one run in his five innings of work. He would go on to make five starts and two relief appearances to finish the 2016 season with a 2-2 record and 5.79 ERA in his combined 28.0 innings pitched.
Stewart suffered tendinitis in his right shoulder during spring training in 2017, causing him to begin the season on the injured list. After recovering from his injury, Stewart spent 2017 bouncing between the minors and the majors, appearing in 17 games (four starts) for the Dodgers, with no decisions and a 3.41 ERA. In his five starts with OKC in 2017, he went 0-1 with a 3.12 ERA.
During his four previous Big League seasons with the Dodgers (2016-2019), Steward appeared in 36 games (11 starts), posting a 2-3 record and a 5.46. And although he went 4-0 with the Blue Jays in 10 relief appearances in 2019, he did so with a less-than-stellar 8.31 ERA – but hey, a W is a W, right?
Although there has yet to be official confirmation of the move from the team that drafted Steward back in 2014, one has to believe that the aforementioned ‘reliable source’ is indeed reliable.
Welcome back, Stew!
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The recent minor league deals definitely have some upside with Morrow, Nelson, and Stewart. Very low risk, and LA could catch lightning in a bottle if any of them are healthy and show some similar stuff to what they have in the past. Fangraphs had an article on Stewart’s slider having awfully impressive movement. Morrow himself basically set the standard of a minor league signing turning into invaluable post-season contributor. Hope one or all of these guys can do that in 2021! Heck Pazos had some good years too. Who knows.
Looks like the front office snatched up proven ground-ball pitchers for depth. Even if they must prove they can cut the mustard still.
I would rather read the Dodgers signed Ha-Seong Kim.
Be patient, young grasshopper.