Long Season Has Not Slowed Christin Stewart

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—It’s been a long season for Christin Stewart.

The Tigers outfielder never played more than 71 games in a year before this, but played 128 in his first full season in 2016 and now is following up with another handful of games in the Arizona Fall League.

Thing is, the Tigers’ No. 1 prospect at midseason doesn’t seem to be slowing down one bit.

Stewart mashed a pair of long doubles in the late innings Tuesday, helping Salt River rally past Peoria 5-4 at Salt River Fields.

Stewart, the 34th overall pick in 2015 out of Tennessee, extended his hitting streak to seven games and is now batting .355 over his past 10 contests.

“It is a long season, but honestly it’s just about keeping your body as strong as possible in the weight room,” Stewart said. “Having a weight program you can still stick through this late in the season, hydrate and put good fuel inside your body, not try to slack off, it all helps and plays a part in having strength this late in the season.”

The 6-foot, 205-pound Atlanta native showed prodigious power in his first full season, belting 30 home runs combined between high Class A Lakeland and Double-A Erie.

He continued to display that pop in his latest AFL contest, notably with a towering drive to the deepest part of the park that hit off the top of the wall in right-center next to the 410-foot sign, sparking a seventh-inning rally for Salt River.

Stewart batted again in the eighth and showed his power isn’t just in the air, ripping a scorching liner into the right field gap off Rays reliever Greg Harris and racing to second base to beat the throw.

“Just trying to make hard contact as many times as you can each game, that’s the goal,” Stewart said. “If you do that good things will happen.”

Indeed, good things did happen for Stewart and his team after his hard drives. His first double put runners on second and third with no outs, and Braves outfielder Dustin Peterson singled home one run and fellow Braves farmhand Travis Demeritte followed with a sacrifice fly to the score 2-2.

Tigers outfielder JaCoby Jones, one of Stewart’s self-described biggest influences in the organization, gave Salt River the lead with a two-run single later in the frame.

“We talk all the time, he’s a great guy who I look to,” Stewart said. “Pretty much he says just everyday you go out there you’ve got to have fun and have a routine and stick to it. Your body is going to get tired, but you have a routine that you stick to, that’s one of the bigger things.”

Stewart’s double in the eighth again put runners on second and third, this time with one out, and Peterson again delivered an RBI single to make it 5-2 and provide what turned out to be the decisive run.

For Stewart, it was just another day at the park where he stepped to the plate, mashed opposing pitchers and helped put his team in position to win. It’s been a common occurrence for him in 2016, no matter how late in the season it is.

“Just going to the plate knowing that I’ve had success here and got a taste of it, I want more,” Stewart said. “Got to stay hungry and go out there everyday and try to help the team win.”

NEWS AND NOTES

• Peterson finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs to raise his average to .316 in Fall League play. The Braves No. 20 prospect heading into the season drove the ball up the middle on both singles with a quick but powerful stroke.

• Diamondbacks lefthanded reliever Jared Miller pitched a scoreless eighth for Salt River and now has yet to allow a run in eight Fall League appearances. He struggled to command his 91-93 mph fastball, but got numerous swings and misses on his 83-85 mph slider with impressive depth and tilt. He now has a 25-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 14 innings this fall.

• Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero went 2-for-4 with a stolen base to lead Peoria. Mariners outfielder Guillermo Heredia went 1-for-3 with a walk and stole two bases.