Cubs bring up Stewart to start Monday vs. Padres
Here's a fun fact about right-handed pitcher Kohl Stewart, who was brought up from the Iowa Cubs to start Monday's game against San Diego.
When he was at Pius X High School in Houston, he was ranked as the No. 15 best quarterback in the Class of 2013 by 247sports.com - four spots higher than Mitch Trubisky.
Steward committed to Texas A&M at one point, but chose baseball when he was drafted No. 4 overall by the Minnesota Twins.
Stewart, 26, worked his way up through the minors and appeared in 17 games for the Twins in 2018 and '19, including six starts. His last major league start was on May 11, 2019. He posted a 4-3 record with 4.79 ERA with Minnesota.
Last year, he signed with Baltimore but decided to opt out of the season. According to the Des Moines Register, Stewart if a Type I diabetic and pitches with an insulin pump under his uniform. So rather than risk a poor outcome with COVID-19, Stewart decided to stay home and spend time with his wife and newborn son.
In four starts for the Iowa Cubs this season, Stewart was 1-2 with a 3.68 ERA and 0.955 WHIP. He had 23 strikeouts in 22 innings, while the Cubs spent time this spring working on his sinker with the hope of coaxing more ground balls.
The Cubs needed a new starter for Monday's game because scheduled starter Trevor Williams had an appendectomy early Sunday morning.
The two likely choices were Stewart or Keegan Thompson. Stewart was already on the Cubs' 40-man roster, so they wouldn't have to make a corresponding move to clear a roster spot.
"He's been stretched out probably further than anybody else and trying not to tax the bullpen too much, I thought it made a lot of sense," Cubs manager David Ross said Monday. "He's been pitching pretty good down there, from what I heard. But I think just a starter that's stretched out and can give us multiple innings made the most sense for where we're at."
Ross didn't have a timeline on how long Williams will be out, but since he's on the 10-day injured list, Stewart will likely get multiple starts if he's up to the task.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls