Stewart was slowed this spring after right shoulder debridement surgery late last September. In eight rehab games — two with Class-A Ontario, then six with Triple-A Oklahoma City — Stewart struck out 13 of his 27 batters faced (48.1 percent) in 6 1/3 scoreless innings, with four hits, three walks, and a hit batter. In those 6 1/3 rehab innings, Stewart threw 112 pitches and induced 23 swinging strikes, including 15 in 4 2/3 innings in Triple-A.
Stewart in six games for the Comets averaged 95.5 mph on his four-seam fastball and 94.8 mph on his sinker, down a bit from his 96.2-mph average on both pitches last season.
After not pitching during spring training, Stewart had his build-up over three weeks with Ontario and Oklahoma City. The final week in Triple-A checked off the usual boxes for relievers. He pitched on back-to-back days Wednesday and Thursday, including a one-batter appearance in the second outing, then entered in the middle of an inning on Sunday at Round Rock.
“As a starter, you’ve got your day that you’re pitching, and you’ve got four or five days in between, and have it scheduled out, have a program,” Eder said last Tuesday. “I’m still getting used to [relief] but I’m basically just doing whatever I can before the game to be ready every night.”