Sky Sox’s Stewart aims to regain form

The tone was set for Ian Stewart's season in the first game of spring training, when he suffered a sprained right knee in a collision with Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

Stewart, Colorado's incumbent starting third baseman, has been sidelined by a strained right hamstring twice since then and endured two demotions to Triple-A Colorado Springs while batting .064 (3-for-47) for the Rockies.

But since returning to the Sky Sox from the disabled list June 2, the 26-year-old slugger has shown signs of regaining the form that helped him compile 43 home runs and 131 RBIs for the Rockies in the past two seasons.

"I'm kind of using this time down here as extended spring training to hopefully get healthy and get my timing back and be back up in the big leagues soon," Stewart said Wednesday before going 0-for-4 in Colorado Springs' 12-6 loss to the 51s (38-29) at Cashman Field. "I feel like I'm almost there."

Stewart has hit five homers in his past 12 games for the Sky Sox and is batting .307 this season, with 10 homers and 27 RBIs in 28 games.

"I needed to build confidence down here after struggling in the big leagues," he said.

Stewart said his struggles with the Rockies this season stem from missing most of spring training with injuries.

After returning from his sprained knee late in camp, he strained his hamstring shortly thereafter and started the regular season with Colorado in a 2-for-26 slump.

"It really slowed me down to start the year," he said. "It was a combination of the injuries and not having enough at-bats in spring training."

The 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound left-handed hitter was sent to Colorado Springs on April 20 and promptly tore up Triple A, earning a return to the Rockies on May 3. But after going 1-for-21 in six games for Colorado, Stewart was sent back to the Sky Sox on May 17.

He said the demotion crushed him, but he put things in perspective after spending some quality time with his wife and daughter.

"That really helped me just kind of clear my mind. That helped me out a lot," he said. "Spending some time with them, you realize baseball is not the most important thing in life."

But Stewart's struggles weren't over. A week after his second demotion, he strained his hamstring again and was placed on the disabled list May 25.

He said he still has some lingering soreness in the area behind his right knee, but nothing major.

"It's something the trainers in Denver told me would kind of linger throughout the year," he said, "but nothing where I'd miss significant time."

Stewart said one key to his recent success has been working with Colorado Springs hitting coach Rene Lachemann on adjusting his batting stance.

"He's helped me out with lowering my hands a little bit and making me quicker to the ball," he said. "Usually my hands are high above my head, but now they're more near my ear.

"I'm just looking to be a little more consistent with my at-bats and be aggressive every time I'm in the box, not being so passive like I had been when I was up in the big leagues."

Sky Sox manager Stu Cole said Stewart needs a little more work in Triple A before he's ready to rejoin the Rockies.

"He still needs some more at-bats to kind of get back in that groove," Cole said. "But if he continues to do what he's doing, it won't be much longer."

■ NOTE -- Toronto signed infielder Ramon Vazquez and assigned him to Las Vegas.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.