What began with Clint Barmes and Garrett Atkins a few years ago has evolved ever so steadily to become a plethora of Colorado Rockies infield prospects with pop.
This is where former first-round pick Ian Stewart fits in comfortably.
His coming-out party came in 2004, where as a 19-year-old third baseman with the Single-A Asheville Tourists, he smashed 30 home runs, drove in 101 runs, and hit .319.
Stewart's power and prospect status diminished a bit over the next two years as his home run totals dipped to 17 and 10, respectively. He still managed, though, to average 36 doubles and seven triples from 2005-2006.
In 2007 Stewart turned in a productive season in Triple-A. Hitting .304 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI, he earned himself a late-season call-up.
In 35 games for the Rockies, Stewart hit a disappointing .209 with one home run and nine RBI.
Stewart is now in the mix for the vacant second base slot in Colorado. However, he does face some stiff competition in fellow prospect Jayson Nix, brother of former Texas Rangers prospect Laynce Nix.
According to Baseball America, Stewart is currently the No. 2 prospect in the Rockies system.
He just might be an Atkins clone, albeit at second base or another position. If he can win the second base job out of Spring Training, he is a contender for the NL Rookie of the Year award.
As for trading cards, Stewart's history is quite limited with his only two cards falling in the 2003 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres set ($60-70) and the 2007 Bowman Sterling ($12-15) offering. Both cards are autographed.
comments (2) write a comment »
write a new comment
6 months ago
It's too bad that Stewart probably won't be on the opening day roster even after another great spring
from 6 months ago
Agreed.
Hopefully he will end up supplanting Jason Nix at some point. He's still only 22.
write a new comment