Sal Stewart keeps stacking up milestones in a rookie season that already looks different from the usual first-year learning curve.
On Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds rookie picked up his 80th hit and put himself in some rare air. Stewart is now one of only two rookies in Major League history to reach 80 or more hits, 40 or more walks, and 55 or more RBI before July.
The other name on that list is Aaron Judge. In 2017, the New York Yankees slugger had 89 hits, 58 walks, and 62 RBI before the calendar flipped to July.
Stewart’s line sits at 80 hits, 42 walks, and 57 RBI.
That kind of production has made the 22-year-old one of the biggest reasons Cincinnati opened April the way it did. He has been a steady force all season, and even with the normal bumps that come with a rookie year, the numbers keep jumping off the page. Stewart is hitting .257/.342/.467 with 35 extra-base hits, 57 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
He says the key has been staying true to himself.
“When you try to be someone else, you stick out like a sore thumb,” Stewart told Charlie Goldsmith. “I’m grateful that I can be who I am and the guys on this team allow me to be who I am.
I enjoy coming to the yard and playing with this team. I love the game.
I love what I do. I’m grateful for what I do.
I try not to take it for granted and go out there and play hard and play to win.”
For the Reds’ former No. 1 prospect, the early returns have been eye-opening. Stewart has kept producing while working through the usual rookie growing pains, and his start was electric from the jump. In his first 99 at-bats in the majors, he hit .303/.381/.626 with nine home runs and five doubles.
Former teammate Rece Hinds gave him the nickname “Salbert,” a nod to Albert Pujols, and the comparison has followed Stewart because of the way he hit right out of the gate. Collin Cowgill was just as direct in Spring Training.
“He has such a refined approach,”Collin Cowgill told Charlie Goldsmith in Spring Training. “He knows the zone.
He can shorten up with two strikes. He has an incredible ability to hit (good) stuff.
Also, he has the approach. Not everyone can hit the way Sal hits, even the superstar youngsters.
His ability to control the zone makes him elite already.”
Stewart was not expected by many to be the Reds’ main run producer when the team signed Eugenio Suarez, but that is exactly how this season has unfolded. He leads Cincinnati in nearly every offensive category, including home runs, RBI, hits, doubles, walks, stolen bases and on-base percentage.
The Reds got the chance to draft Stewart in the 2021 MLB Draft after Nick Castellanos declined the Reds’ qualifying offer that offseason, which gave Cincinnati a competitive balance pick in the first round. Now Stewart is being mentioned as a serious Rookie of the Year contender.
In Other News...
Reds Cannot Afford To Get This Chase Petty Decision Wrong
With Eugenio Suarez out and Elly De La Cruz dealing with ankle concern, the Reds are already navigating the kind of injury pileup that can quickly tighten a roster. In the middle of that, Chase Petty has given Cincinnati a useful look in relief, showing enough promise to matter in the present while also reminding the club why he remains more than just a short-term bullpen arm.
The larger question is whether the Reds should keep treating Petty like a help-now reliever or use this stretch to pull him back into a starters path before the deadline reshapes the rotation. Hunter Greenes return could change how Cincinnati handles the innings ahead, especially if the front office decides to move pieces such as Brady Singer or Nick Lodolo, and Pettys next decision may say as much about the clubs long-term planning as any trade it makes this month. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Are Back In The Same Center Field Dilemma Again
The Reds are right back in search mode in center field, and TJ Friedls return from Triple-A gives them the most familiar option to sort through the mess. Friedl was recalled after being optioned in early June, a reset that followed an 18-game stint in Louisville, while Blake Dunn landed on the injured list with an elbow strain and opened up another hole in the lineup mix.
For now, Friedl looks like the leading candidate to handle center, with Dane Myers, Noelvi Marte, JJ Bleday and Matt McLain all in the picture as the staff keeps shuffling pieces around. Dunns injury also nudged Elly De La Cruz into the leadoff spot, which only adds another layer to the clubs latest lineup puzzle as it tries to stabilize the middle of the diamond. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Fans Had Every Reason To Fear This Gavin Lux Trade
When the Reds sent Mike Sirota to the Dodgers for Gavin Lux, the move was sold as a chance to get an established big leaguer while dealing from a prospect stash. It also immediately carried the kind of downside Cincinnati fans know too well with player-for-player swaps, because the club was betting on Lux stabilizing the infield and adding some needed offense while giving up a young talent with plenty of upside.
Instead, the trade has quickly tilted the wrong way for Cincinnatis side of it. Lux did not give the Reds the lift they needed, and his time in the field and at the plate never really delivered the payoff the front office was chasing before he was later flipped again for Brock Burke. Meanwhile, the loss of Sirota keeps looking more painful, which is why this deal keeps coming up as a cautionary tale every time the Reds are reminded how thin the margin can be on deadline-style roster moves. [Read more 🡒]