The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Recovering from a brief slump since the calendar flipped to May, Jervis “Champ” Stuart has returned to the form that made him a promising minor league prospect for the New York Mets organisation.

Stuart is playing this season at an elevated level of Single A play with the St Lucie Mets in the Florida State Class A Advanced League.

After going hitless in three of four games and 1-15 overall, Stuart has connected at the plate, hitting 4-11 in the last three-game series against the Palm Beach Cardinals.

In game one, he finished 2-4 and scored one run in a 4-0 win for the Mets. He followed  with 1-3 and 1-4 outings as the Mets dropped the next two meetings.

Through 24 games, Stuart is hitting .244 with an on-base percentage of .361 with two home runs, six RBI and 19 stolen bases.

His first home run was a solo shot in the fourth inning to propel St Lucie to a 7-2 win over Bradenton on opening day. He finished the day 2-4 with two RBI and added one stolen base.

The Mets followed to complete the home portion of the series with another win over Bradenton and Stuart went 2-4 with one stolen base.

In an interview with Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com, Stuart outlined the midset behind his most valuable assets he plans to bring to the Mets organisation - speed and base running.

He has produced 47 steals and been caught only seven times in 136 professional games.

“Anytime I get on base, my intention is to take the next bag,” he said. “So I’m always looking to get the edge, steal the next base, regardless of if I’m on second or I’m on first,” he said. “Speed is my main asset, so I try to keep myself healthy, work on my base stealing -- and some jumps and reads in the outfield. Of course, you can’t do enough hitting. They have me working on a lot of stuff like hitting the ball on the ground, so I can use my speed.”

Stuart was a 2013 sixth-round pick in the New York Mets organisation.

Regarded as “the fastest player in the Mets system” by the club’s minor league scoring report, Stuart is ranked as the Mets’ No.25 prospect.

“Stuart rates at the top of the scouting scale [as a] runner. A former multi-sport standout, the other part of his game are a bit raw, but he’s not without tools. He’s willing to work counts and draw walks, knowing his job is to get on base,” the report goes on to say. “He has some strength, unlike some pure speed guys, giving hope that there’s some hitting ability to be unlocked. He uses his speed well on the basepaths as an efficient base stealer, something that will only improve as he learns the nuances of his craft. He covers a ton of ground in centre field, showing improvement on his reads and routes. Stuart’s plus tool will give him many opportunities. If the bat comes around, he could be more than just speed off of the bench.”

He was promoted to Single-A baseball last May and finished with a productive first season with the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Class A South Atlantic League.

The 22-year-old outfielder hit .256 with three home runs, 28 RBI , 29 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .341. He played his rookie season with the Tennessee-based Kingston Mets before he received the call to Class-A.

A Bimini native, in his three-year collegiate career, Stuart was a two-time All-South Athletic Conference selection at Brevard College.

A second generation professional player, “Champ” is the son of Jervis Sr and Cicely Stuart. The elder Stuart had a budding minor league baseball career of his own in the mid-1980s. He joined the Baltimore Orioles farm system in 1984 and advanced to Class A baseball in 1985.