For Stewart, Cubs want a healthy return
Let's begin by taking a look at a couple sets of numbers, shall we?
This Hall of Famer was with the Cubs for 14 seasons, and he put up a batting line of .279/.366/.472 with 337 home runs and 1,290 RBI.
This next player was with the Cubs for parts of nine seasons, putting up a line of .294/.361/.510 with 239 home runs and 806 RBI.
Those are the two most productive third basemen in Cubs history, Ron Santo and Aramis Ramirez, respectively.
For years after Santo's trade to the White Sox following the 1973 season, the Cubs wandered in the wilderness searching for a third baseman to carry on the legacy. They pretty much failed until Ramirez arrived in the summer of 2003 when then-general manager Jim Hendry stole him from Pittsburgh.
Ramirez left for the Milwaukee Brewers via free agency this off-season. For whatever reason, not all Cubs fans mourned his departure, but the fact remains the guy could flat-out hit, including last year, when he put up a line of .306/.361/.510 with 26 homers and 93 RBI.
The search is on again.
Enter Ian Stewart.
The new Cubs regime, headed by baseball president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer, traded Tyler Colvin and youngster DJ LeMahieu to the Colorado Rockies this winter in exchange for Stewart and pitcher Casey Weathers.
Nobody is expecting Stewart to be another Ramirez, much less another Santo. But a lot is expected of him.
Stewart, who turns 27 on Opening Day, suffered through an injury-plagued 2011, during which he hit zero major-league home runs.
Here's a look at the hot-button issues at the hot corner.
Who's the real Stewart?
Is it the guy who hit no homers last year in 122 major-league at-bats — Stewart did hit 14 homers in the minor leagues — or the player who hit 43 homers for the Rockies in 2009 and 2010 combined?
Both he and the Cubs are betting on the latter. Give Epstein and Hoyer credit for “buying low” on a player with a recent good track record. Stewart is a left-handed batter who has a lifetime slugging percentage of .406 against left-handed pitchers and .435 against righties. For his career, Stewart has a hitting line of .236/.323/.428.
Moreover, of his 54 lifetime home runs, 29 have come away from hitter-friendly Coors Field in Colorado, his home park for parts of 2007-11.
Knee and hamstring injuries plagued Stewart last year in spring training, and he admitted in December when the Cubs obtained him that he probably pushed too hard to open the season on the active roster. He began the year 2-for-26 before being optioned to Class AAA Colorado Springs. After being recalled, he went 1-for-21. Wrist inflammation ultimately ended his 2011 season.
“He had a disappointing 2011 season, but we felt he had a ton of potential in there,” Hoyer said.
Stewart said it's a matter of staying healthy and getting at-bats.
“I know that if I'm healthy and getting 400 to 500 at-bats, I'm going to produce,” he told cubs.com during Cubs spring training in Mesa, Ariz.
The big stat that jumps out about Stewart is his lifetime strikeout rate of 27.9 percent, according to Fangraphs, which also points out his low lifetime contact rate of 72 percent.
What about defense?
When the Cubs traded for Stewart, Hoyer termed him a “gifted third baseman.” In 790 total chances at third base in his career, Stewart has committed 33 errors.
Cubs fans and some media observers had grown disenchanted with Ramirez's alleged indifferent play at third base the last few seasons. Look for those same people to give Stewart a break, at least in the early going.
What's in the pipeline?
Josh Vitters, the Cubs' No. 1 pick in 2007, is in camp and on the 40-man roster. Vitters is only 22, but many Cubs fans seem to have tired of waiting for him to blossom.
Last year at Class AA Tennessee, Vitters had a hitting line of .283/.322/.448 with 14 homers, 81 RBI, 22 walks and 54 strikeouts in 449 at-bats. There had been some talk of moving Vitters to first base, but with Anthony Rizzo waiting in the wings, Vitters is either the third baseman of the future, or he'll be another top Cubs pick that the new regime ends up trading away. He'll likely start this season at Class AAA Iowa.
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Best in the NL
Bruce Miles ranks the top NL third basemen:
1. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
2. David Wright, Mets
3. Pablo Sandoval, Giants
9. Ian Stewart, CUBS
Fangraphs.com on Stewart: At age 27, Stewart has time, his pedigree (No. 10 overall pick in the 2003 draft), and his minor-league stats working in his favor. ... The Cubs have declared defense a priority, and Total Zone, UZR/150, and the Fan Scouting Report all agree that Stewart plays third above average.