There is little excitement in October for fans of MLB teams who missed the playoffs. Unfortunately, Detroit Tigers fans are included in that category for the second consecutive year. While it is true that there isn’t any major league action for us to enjoy, the Arizona Fall League provides entertainment once in a while, and this little nugget came on Thursday courtesy of top outfield prospect Christin Stewart.
Bobby DeMuro was kind enough to give us a video of the shot from a different angle with this Tweet:
#Tigers prospect Christin Stewart (@christin_stew) home run yesterday for Salt River vs Mesa @emilywaldon2080 @blessyouboys pic.twitter.com/D0CzHK9tfy
— Bobby DeMuro (@BobbyDeMuro) October 14, 2016
He did it in style, too. The three-run shot tied the game score 4-4 and drove in Brewers No. 8 prospect Isan Diaz and Diamondbacks No. 21 prospect Jaime Westbrook. Stewart absolutely clobbered that ball; it was sizzling at 105.7 mph as it came off the bat, and it flew a whopping 444 feet. It was his first of the year.
Despite Stewart’s best efforts, Salt River went on to lose that game with a final score of 7-5, getting pegged for a run in each of the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings. One of those runs came on a surprise shot from Blue Jays top prospect Anthony Alford, usually punchless, but was able to take Salt River deep.
Since getting drafted in 2015 out of Tennessee, Stewart has done nothing but impress. He won the Tigers Hitter of the Year Award earlier this week and intends to prove why in this AFL season.
Other Tigers prospects getting time this fall include Spencer Turnbull and Grayson Griener, both of whom I featured in the same Prospect Notebook article here, as well as pitchers Artie Lewicki, Adam Ravenelle, and Jeff Thompson, as well as outfielder JaCoby Jones.