Christin Stewart

Halfway through his first full major-league season, Stewart went down with a concussion, and once cleared he was sent to Triple-A in order to further heal and develop following profound struggles over the first half. Stewart is known for his power but only managed to hit 10 home runs in 104 games in 2019. The 26-year-old struck out 24.8% of the time last season, but showed some ability to discern at the plate, recording an 8.2 BB% despite a 35.2 O-Swing%. Stewart missed the first month of the season due to a quadriceps injury before the missed time due to his concussion, so it's safe to wonder whether injuries played a part in his disappointing 2019. Stewart should have a role as the Tigers' starting left fielder, but he's not a good defender. The lackluster defense combined with the swing and miss and unfavorable team context should put a damper on expectations for 2020 and beyond.

It took longer than many were expecting, but Stewart finally arrived to the big leagues Sept. 9 and flashed an impressive offensive skill set before going down with a core-muscle injury. In 72 plate appearances with Detroit, he struck out 13 times, walked 10 times and contributed four extra-base hits -- good for a 120 wRC+. The big story from his season was the bat-to-ball improvement he showed during his time on the farm. After posting K-rates right around 25% at Double-A in 2016 and 2017, Stewart cut that number down to 20.7% while jumping to the highest level of the minor leagues. There are still questions about his hit tool, but now there is at least some hope that he can hit enough to allow his power to play. He gave back a lot of the real-world value from his offensive contributions on the defensive side, and realistically he's a DH long term, but Stewart should get a chance to play the field regularly during what will be a rebuilding year in Detroit.

Stewart is a one-tool player thanks to his massive raw power. Unfortunately, his ability to hit the ball out with ease is now an ability shared by most journeyman corner infielders and outfielders, so he is far less exciting than he would have been five years ago. He is a below-average defender, even in left field, so he may be a designated hitter for the majority of his career. This limitation puts an awful lot of pressure on his bat. Fortunately, he is coming up in an organization that will enter 2018 with just one returning player who hit at least 20 home runs last season (Nick Castellanos), so Stewart's power will be far less superfluous than it would be on an average big-league roster. He does not project to hit above .250 in the majors, but should walk a decent amount, making him more valuable in OBP and points leagues. Stewart will head to Triple-A, and could make his big-league debut in late 2018 or early 2019.

Stewart led the pitcher-friendly Florida State League in every notable power category despite receiving a promotion to Double-A in early August. This has always been an all-offense package, meaning Stewart would have to hit a ton at every stop to profile as a regular. So far he has held up his end of that bargain. There is some swing-and-miss in his game that could become more of a problem at Triple-A or the big leagues, but over stops at High-A and Double-A he kept his strikeout rate below 25 percent while walking almost 15 percent of the time. His numbers in the Eastern League were dragged down by some bad luck on balls in play (.232 BABIP), but he was still an above-average hitter (109 wRC+) thanks to the fact that he continued to send balls over the fence at an outstanding clip. Stewart, who hits left-handed, appears on track to offer 25-plus homer power while occupying the strong side of a left field platoon for the Tigers in early 2018.

The Tigers wasted no time deploying and promoting Stewart after selecting him with the 34th overall pick in the 2015 draft, giving him 301 plate appearances across three levels. He certainly earned the aggressive promotions, blasting 10 homers, seven of which came in 51 games for Low-A West Michigan. Considering only 21 players hit double-digit homers in the Midwest League last year and most of those hitters had at least twice as many at-bats as Stewart, his power is clearly pretty advanced. Stewart also proved to a be a good overall hitter with a nice approach. Pegged for left field, Stewart could be fast-tracked to the majors on a path that could resemble that of Michael Conforto with the Mets last season. As one of the top sluggers in last year’s draft who also figures to be one of the first players from that class to reach the majors, Stewart should be highly sought after in dynasty league drafts this spring.