Kansas City, Mo. — The conversation will almost always come back to defense when the subject is Tigers left fielder Christin Stewart.
Never mind that he’s produced just six home runs and 29 RBIs in 66 games. After hitting three home runs in 64 plate appearances in late March and April, he’s hit three more in 207 plate appearances since. Never mind that his average exit velocity on balls put in play (86 mph) is in the lower 14 percentile, according to Statcast.
“I think he’s doing fine,” manager Ron Gardenhire said, when asked about Stewart’s offensive production.