Given that Chattanooga Lookouts pitcher Kohl Stewart didn't last three innings during his last start in Jacksonville, his four-inning performance in Monday night's 5-0 rain-shortened loss to visiting Biloxi at AT&T Field was an improvement.
Not that anyone expected this kind of beginning for one of the top pitching prospects in the Minnesota Twins organization.
"It's been challenging for him up to this point, and the nice thing about baseball is that there is always another one coming and another opportunity," Lookouts manager Jake Mauer said. "With any pitcher at any level, it's all built off fastball command and throwing it wherever you want. It's only a failure if you don't learn from it."
There have been plenty of learning opportunities already this season for the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Stewart, who through three starts is 0-3 with a 5.11 earned run average.
Stewart entered this year as the No. 7 organizational prospect according to Baseball America after a solid 2016 season that included a 3-2 record and a 2.61 ERA in nine starts at high-A Fort Myers and a 9-6 mark with a 3.03 ERA in 16 starts with the Lookouts.
The 22-year-old started Chattanooga's season opener April 6 against visiting Mobile, allowing three hits and one run in six innings in a 2-0 defeat.
"His first outing here wasn't too bad," Mauer said. "He battled. Jacksonville just didn't work out for him. If there are 30 starts in a year, there will be five starts where you have no-hit stuff and five where you can't get anybody out, and what you do with the other 20 kind of determines how you're going to be as a pitcher.
"He probably had one of those (bad) five the last time out."
Stewart allowed seven runs on seven hits and five walks while retiring just seven batters against the Jumbo Shrimp. The right-hander survived two walks and a hit batter during the first inning Monday but could not overcome a fourth-inning throwing error by second baseman Engelb Vielma, allowing a two-out double to left field by Mauricio Dubon that brought in Jacob Nottingham, Clint Coulter and Javier Betancourt.
Monday's game was called in the middle of the sixth inning.
The fourth overall pick of the 2013 draft, Stewart turned down an opportunity to succeed Johnny Manziel as Texas A&M's starting quarterback. He signed with the Aggies as a four-star prospect in 2013 before choosing baseball.
"He's got great stuff, no doubt," Mauer said. "He's got a good fastball, and his secondary stuff has got a chance to be really good as well. He's got to control his pitches, make pitches in spots and limit damage - all the stuff that young pitchers go through and experience.
"Once he gets to that point, he's got a chance to be really good."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.