What To Expect: Brock Stewart

Nick Tepesch lasted one start in the ailing Dodgers rotation. After the former Rangers righthander was designated for assignment, the Dodgers have said quick-rising Brock Stewart will make his major league debut on Thursday.

Stewart, 24, is 8-3, 1.47 in 14 starts at high Class A, Double-A and Triple-A, with 99 strikeouts and 14 walks in 86 innings. In his past two starts, he struck out 20 and walked one in 13 innings.

Stewart’s father Jeff was the head coach at Illinois State from 1989-2002 and now is a pro scout for the Rays.

SCOUTING REPORT

Stewart spent most of his time at Illinois State at third base, but the Dodgers were intrigued by his arm strength and drafted him in the sixth round in 2014 as a pitcher. Now, his fastball touches 96 mph with advanced command. He now throws two types of sliders, one he tries to get batters to chase and one he can throw for strikes, and scouts say his harder slider is an average to tick-above pitch. His changeup has progressed to where it is now a fringe-average pitch.

Stewart has great mound presence and poise and his arm has low mileage. His physicality and pitch mix give him a viable starter profile.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The Dodgers have rotation options on the horizon in Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Ross Stripling nearing returns, but Stewart could stick around and help keep down the workloads of all three as well as teenager Julio Urias.

Stewart is a workhorse, back-end type who will eat innings and has great makeup. He should fit in well in a veteran, high-priced clubhouse.