Zachary Robert Stewart (born September 28, 1986) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, and in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the

NC Dinos The NC Dinos ( ko, NC 다이노스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corpo ...

Amateur career

Stewart attended

Holliday High School Holliday High School is a public high school located in Holliday, Texas, United States, and classified as a 3A school by the UIL. It is part of the Holliday Independent School District located in northwestern Archer County. In 2013, the school ...

. He attended

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the same year it too ...

before transferring to

North Central Texas College North Central Texas College (NCTC) is a public community college in Gainesville, Texas. It serves Cooke County, Denton County, and Montague County, Texas. History As with many of the early community colleges, NCTC began as an extension of th ...

where he pitched in 2006 and 2007. He pitched for

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

in 2008. Stewart became the third former North Central Texas College player to debut in MLB, after Craig Stansberry and J. R. Towles.

Professional career

Cincinnati Reds

Stewart was drafted by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in the third round of the

2008 Major League Baseball draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

out of

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 1, 2009 the Reds traded Stewart, along with

Edwin Encarnación Edwin Elpidio Encarnación (born January 7, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball designated hitter, third baseman and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Ind ...

and

Josh Roenicke Joshua James Roenicke (born August 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He most recently pitched for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

, to the

for

Scott Rolen Scott Bruce Rolen (born April 4, 1975) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds. He was an eight-t ...

. He was the

top prospect prior to the

2010 Toronto Blue Jays season The 2010 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 34th season of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays franchise, and the team's 21st full season of play (22nd overall) at the Rogers Centre. The 2010 season was the first under general manager Alex An ...

according to

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

. On June 14, 2011, Stewart was called up from the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

to replace

Kyle Drabek Kyle Jordan Drabek (born December 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Drabek is the son of former major-l ...

, who was optioned to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. He made his career debut on June 16, 2011 against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, pitching 7 innings, giving up 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. After making 3 starts, Stewart was optioned back to Double-A New Hampshire on June 28, 2011.

Chicago White Sox

On July 27, 2011, Stewart was traded to the

with

Jason Frasor Jason Andrew Frasor (born August 9, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2004, and had a 4.08 ERA in 63 games. He also played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, ...

for Edwin Jackson and

Mark Teahen Mark Thomas Teahen (born September 6, 1981) is an American-Canadian former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. He graduated from Yucaip ...

. Stewart was called up to the White Sox on August 6, 2011 and earned his first MLB victory going 6.1 innings giving up 1 run on 8 hits striking out 2 in a 6–1 victory over the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. On September 5, 2011, Stewart threw 7 perfect innings before giving up a hit to

infielder

Danny Valencia Daniel Paul Valencia (דני ולנסיה; born September 19, 1984) is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israeli national baseball team. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota T ...

. Stewart then went on to retire the next six batters as the White Sox swept a double header winning 4–0.

Boston Red Sox

On June 24, 2012, Stewart was traded to the

with

Brent Lillibridge Brent Stuart Lillibridge (born September 18, 1983) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs ...

for

Kevin Youkilis Kevin Edmund Youkilis (; born March 15, 1979), nicknamed "Youk" , is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman, who primarily played for the Boston Red Sox. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he was drafted by the Red S ...

and cash. He was sent to the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

. Stewart was recalled from Pawtucket on August 29 in order to start that night against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. The next day, Stewart was sent back to Pawtucket to make room for

Daniel Bard Daniel Paul Bard (born June 25, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Boston Red Sox from 2009 to 2013. In 2011, Bard set a Red Sox team record wit ...

. On November 20, Stewart was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

with four others.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 28, 2012, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

announced that they had acquired Stewart from the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later. The Pirates sent pitcher Kyle Kaminska to the Red Sox to complete the trade. The Pirates designated Stewart for assignment on January 17, 2013.

Return to Chicago

Stewart was claimed by the Chicago White Sox on January 24, 2013. Stewart spent the 2013 season with the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

Atlanta Braves

Stewart was traded to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

on March 10, 2014, in exchange for cash considerations. he started the 2014 season with the Triple-A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On January 27, 2015, Stewart signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

NC Dinos

On June 10, 2015, Stewart signed a contract with the

Baltimore Orioles

On January 6, 2017, Stewart signed a minor league contract with the

. On May 3, 2017, the Orioles released Stewart from his minor league contract.

New Britain Bees

On March 20, 2018, Stewart signed with the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

of the independent

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

Toronto Blue Jays (second stint)

On July 5, 2018, Stewart signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

New Britain Bees (second stint)

On March 19, 2019, Stewart signed with the

of the

. On May 21, 2019, Stewart announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Post-playing career

As of 2020, Stewart is an assistant coach in the

organization.

References

External links

Zach Stewart
at the Texas Tech Red Raiders official athletic website
Zach Stewart
at KBO official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Zachary 1986 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Baseball players from Texas Boston Red Sox players Carolina Mudcats players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Dayton Dragons players Gulf Coast Braves players Gwinnett Braves players Las Vegas 51s players Louisville Bats players NC Dinos players NCTC Lions baseball players New Britain Bees players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Pawtucket Red Sox players Salt Lake Bees players Sarasota Reds players Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball players Toronto Blue Jays players