Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Brock Stewart was recently named the organization’s top pitching prospect, and Cody Bellinger the Dodgers’ top hitting prospect for 2016, by MLB Pipeline. The publication selected two prospects for each team.
Stewart, who made his Major League debut at the end of June, was previously named the team’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He pitched at three different Minor League levels this season, succeeding in all of them.
The 25-year-old began the year with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he started two games, going 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 0.64 WHIP while striking out 10 in 11 innings.
Stewart was then promoted to Double-A Tulsa, going 3-4 with a 1.37 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 10 starts. That led to a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The remainder of Stewart’s season was spent between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles, as he pitched in seven games (five starts) for the big league club. He was 4-0 with a 2.49 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in nine starts with Oklahoma City.
Stewart encountered some struggles in the Majors, proving to be susceptible to the long ball, which played a role in his 5.79 ERA over 28 innings. Across his three stops in the Minors, Stewart threw 121 innings and posted a cumulative 1.79 ERA.
Unlike Stewart, Bellinger spent most of this season with one Minor League affiliate. The 21-year-old first baseman played 114 games for Tulsa and batted .263/.359/.484 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Late in the season Bellinger was called up to Oklahoma City, where he likely will begin next season, and in three games, went 6-for-11 with three home runs and six RBIs.
While Stewart’s role with the organization is unclear going forward as the team has a crowded rotation and a bevy of pitching prospects, Bellinger has been pegged as the organization’s first baseman of the future, likely taking over for Adrian Gonzalez sometime in the near future.
