Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart have given the Reds a rare kind of lift, and manager Terry Francona made it clear Thursday that he sees more than just the numbers.
De La Cruz has been one of the hottest hitters in Major League Baseball over the past three weeks. He has reached base safely in each of his last 23 games and has hit eight home runs in that stretch. During the streak, he has piled up 21 singles, 10 doubles, eight home runs, 23 runs scored, 10 walks and four stolen bases.
Francona pointed to one trait that keeps coming up with De La Cruz: belief.
"I know I've said it a million times, but confidence plays such a big part," Francona told Mike Petraglia, "and he can't quantify it, so people sometimes don't value it enough, but when you walk up there and you think you can do it, or you know you can do it, as opposed to you hope you can do it, it's a big deal."
That confidence has helped fuel a season that already sits among the Reds’ best in the modern era. According to FanGraphs, De La Cruz has produced 6.1 wins above replacement in 2026, good for ninth among Reds batting seasons since 1990. His 2024 season was worth 6.8 fWAR, tying Barry Larkin’s 1996 campaign for third on that list.
Stewart, meanwhile, has been driving the offense for most of the year. The 22-year-old has 109 RBI, a Reds rookie record, with games still left to play. He’s spent nearly three months near the top of the league in RBI, and Francona also singled out the way Stewart has handled himself defensively while learning on the job.
"I think in the batter's box definitely,“ Francona said. Francona said.
"I think the rest of the game is (progressing), and that's okay. I mean, he's playing a new position as a rookie.
He got a lot thrown at him, and he's handled it pretty damn well."
The Reds drafted Stewart in 2022 with a competitive balance pick after losing Nick Castellanos to the Phillies in free agency. He became the club’s top prospect in 2025 and moved from Double-A to the majors in just one season; 2025 was his first year in Double-A. He also learned first base on the fly during the season, playing only two games at the position in Triple-A before his September promotion.
What stands out most is how polished his approach already looks. Stewart can change his swing to match the moment, knowing when to hunt power and when to go the other way to bring runners home. For a rookie, that kind of adjustment is a major reason the Reds have been able to lean on him so heavily.
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