FORT MYERS, Fla. — Things are looking pretty good in Brock Stewart’s world these days.
The relief pitcher recently returned to Twins camp after heading home to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the birth of his second son, Cal. And at work, for the first time in his career, he walked into spring training knowing there’s a major league roster spot for him.
It’s a far cry from where he was a year ago when he came into camp knowing he was ticketed for St. Paul. That’s what a season in which you post a 0.65 earned-run average while striking out 12.7 batters per nine innings and displaying electrifying stuff will do for you.
“When I was healthy, I was one of the best pitchers on the planet, and to think about that is pretty cool,” Stewart said. “Obviously it’s going to take everything in me and probably some more from the outside world to duplicate my numbers from last year, but … I’m going to put my best foot forward every time I’m on the field.”
The only downside to Stewart’s breakout season was the three months he spent on the injured list dealing with an elbow injury, which limited him to just 27 2/3 innings at the major league level last year. But injury aside, Stewart’s breakout was a revelation for both the player and the team.
The Twins originally signed the right-hander to a two-year minor league contract in 2022, a low-risk deal as he finished up his rehab. They believed in his upside.
When he got to St. Paul late that season, his stuff felt good — and he struck out 11 batters in 7 1/3 innings — but the numbers weren’t. He finished with a 6.14 ERA in seven games.
“As I got into spring training and I saw the velocity was really good and I heard the feedback that they gave me about how they loved my stuff and some of the plans that they wanted me to try to obtain when it comes to attacking the strike zone and all sorts of things like that, after all that, I kind of had some more confidence in myself that, ‘Oh, maybe this is possible,’ ” Stewart said.
It was.
After a strong start to the 2023 season for the Saints, the Twins selected his contract in late April and called him up. He quickly became a crucial piece of their bullpen, a shutdown reliever with a four-seamer that averaged 97.3 miles per hour, a huge jump from when he had last pitched in the majors in 2019 (91.7 mph).
Opponents hit .194 off his sweeper last year and just .071 against his cutter.
“It was pretty apparent and obvious to everybody watching that he was a different pitcher and a guy that can get the best hitters out and a guy that has electric stuff, and he’s commanded it pretty well,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think when his stuff ticked up I think it was a little new to him, and commanding those pitches might have been challenging at the beginning, but I think he’s made really good adjustments with that and he has good feel for his stuff at this point.”
Expect to see Stewart filling a high-leverage role for the Twins once again this year, coming in to pitch pressure-filled important innings.
And while Stewart, 32, has adjusted to his new reality as a big leaguer after years of trying to establish himself — he first debuted in 2016 — he certainly hasn’t forgotten all it’s taken to get to this point.
“I’ve never known going into spring training ‘Hey, there’s a 99 percent chance if I’m healthy that I have a spot.’ So that’s really cool but still keep it in perspective,” Stewart said. “I’m just fortunate to have a job in pro ball so I try to come in here every day and treat every outing, treat every bullpen and every workout kind of like a tryout, put my best foot forward, no matter if I have a spot locked up or not.”
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