Brock Stewart

Stewart experienced a major uptick in velocity compared to the last time he pitched in the majors. Between 2016 and 2019, the right-hander sat between 91-and-93 miles per hour on his 4-seam fastball. Last year, he averaged a whopping 97.2 mph on the pitch and the added velocity worked wonders for the 32-year-old. Stewart's 51.1% whiff rate on his fastball was 2nd-highest in the league for that pitch type. He also struck out 35.8% of the batters he faced, which was a remarkable improvement over his previous career-high (19.8%). Unfortunately, he only topped out at 27.2 innings, as elbow tendinitis forced him to miss several months. While his 0.65 ERA and 1.08 WHIP are appealing for his 2024 prospects, don't forget to bake in some injury risk. Stewart underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and elbow issues resurfaced last year.

Stewart posted a 3.41 ERA in 34.1 innings in 2017, but he earned just 17.2 big-league innings last season, stumbling to a 6.11 ERA. That figure was well deserved according to his peripherals. There aren't many reasons left to be excited about the righty, as the 27-year-old now owns a 4.84 ERA in 80 major-league innings, with an 18.7% strikeout rate and a 11.0% walk rate which both sit well worse than the league average. He did manage a 2.99 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City, suggesting that he could still be a capable big leaguer if he finds himself in a situation where he can get regular innings. The Dodgers do like to use a large number of pitchers throughout the year, but to this point that they've never managed to find more than 34.1 innings for Stewart, so if he's to have any deep-league value, it will likely require a move to a new team.

Stewart is currently behind at least six arms on the starting pitcher depth chart. That said, we are keenly aware of the games and schemes the Dodgers used with the 10-day disabled list last season, and all of the pitchers ahead of him have missed a decent chunk of time the past two seasons with injuries. Stewart himself has been unable to put together a full season of pitching due to his own health issues, but when he has pitched, he has been productive. He profiles best as a No. 4 starter with the upside of a No. 3 if everything clicks, but he could also serve as a swingman in the Dodger bullpen for 2018. Either way, the skills should play up and he should be able to get his opportunities at the big-league level this year around the team's disabled list shenanigans. Stewart is a good non-closer option to fill out an NL-only roster.

Stewart started the season at High-A yet finished the year by making seven appearances for the big club, including five starts. The meteoric rise through the system for the 25-year-old lefty out of Illinois State should hardly be surprising when looking at his statistics. Across three levels in the minors, Stewart posted a minuscule 1.79 ERA. Stewart notched a 129:19 K:BB in 121 innings, showing exceptional control along with the ability to miss bats. Stewart may have run out of gas at the end of the year, as he allowed seven home runs in those seven outings in the bigs en route to a 5.79 ERA. Nevertheless, the Dodgers have question marks at the back end of their rotation, and while Stewart does not have the upside of Julio Urias or Jose De Leon, he will have a shot to make the squad as the No. 4 or No. 5 starter out of spring training.