LAKELAND, Fla. -- Christin Stewart took the first-pitch fastball from Chance Adams for a strike on Sunday. That in itself was a surprise.

"For me especially, when I get a fastball over the plate, I'm swinging," Stewart said recently. "That's my thing, even if it's early in the count. That's what I do. That's what I like to hit."

Stewart fouled off the slider that followed, and the fastball after that. After just missing a drive down the right-field line on a fastball, Stewart got the fastball again and laced a line drive into right field. That followed a two-run double into the right-field corner a day earlier off Braves starter Sean Newcomb.

A year after being a notable omission from Major League camp, Stewart is quietly putting up the kind of spring that makes it easy to forget he's a rookie with just a month of big league time. With a .333 average, two home runs and seven RBIs in 10 games, Stewart is getting his hits and working on his approach while trying to shore up his defense in left field.

The smile on his face is a little easier tell that Stewart is still a rookie -- and the Tigers' No. 8-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline. And when he's not blistering balls in batting practice, Stewart is a fan -- and a bit of a student -- watching teammates like Miguel Cabrera.

"His BP is pretty awesome," said Stewart, 25. "It looks like he's not even swinging the bat, and the ball's flying 50 feet over the fence to the opposite field. Just to see his approach, how he goes about his BP, he has the same approach every day. His first round, it doesn't matter if he gets jammed or whatever, he's shooting the other way. And then eventually he'll start working farther across the field. So it's pretty cool watching that."

Depending on how manager Ron Gardenhire makes out his lineup, Stewart could be on base watching Cabrera hit once the season starts. Stewart batted second in all 16 games he started last September after being called up from Triple-A Toledo, drawing 10 walks with a .375 on-base percentage -– 12 points above his career Minor League OBP -- while batting in front of Nicholas Castellanos.

Those lineups did not include Cabrera, who was still recovering from biceps surgery. Now that Cabrera is back, forming a formidable duo with Castellanos, and Josh Harrison seems poised to take the leadoff spot, Gardenhire has options to bat second.

Stewart hit second in some games earlier this spring, most recently Wednesday against the Braves. Sunday marked his third straight game batting fifth behind the Cabrera-Castellanos duo, not including a Friday game in which he didn't play.

Stewart is well aware of the possibility, but don't expect him to lose his aggressiveness.

"You can take pitches sometimes," Stewart said, "but I've been in that situation. I know I have this guy behind me, but the biggest thing for me is just getting on base and trying to score for those guys."

If that means swinging early, don't expect him to hesitate.

"It doesn't mean I'm always swinging first pitch," he said. "Everybody's different, but I have my zone that I try to stick to every at-bat, depending on the pitcher. Every pitcher's different, but I just have to stick to my approach."