Zack
Stewart

The Bears top prospect for 2024 is draft-eligible sophomore Zack Stewart. A 6-foot-2, 215-pound left handed hitting corner outfielder, Stewart is highly regarded for his power and high exit velocities. His maximum this spring is 117 mph which grades as plus-plus (70) on the pro scale. After showing off that pop with plus bat speed in batting practice, Stewart spun to hit at the plate and was in/out of the zone quickly resulting in an infield popup, an easy rollover to the right side and another groundout to third base. His fourth at-bat ended differently with perfect timing and a home run to center field. Stewart has made remarkable strides this season, cutting his strikeout rate from 27.7% in 2023 to 18.4% this spring. Much of that improvement is due to his progress competing against changeups and slugging 1.030 against sliders this spring. Overall, Stewart has seen 632 pitches spanning 174 plate appearances with 319 (50.5%) of those pitches being off speed. He is currently batting .331 with 18 home runs and a .379 ISO. Defensively, Stewart showed an average to slightly better arm with near average range. He profiles to either corner outfield spot at the next level and will likely be considered starting towards the end of the second round.