Sal Stewart just added another line to an already loud rookie season.
The Cincinnati Reds slugger was named National League Rookie of the Month for August after putting together a .304/.349/.530 month with eight home runs, 21 RBI, and a 135 wRC+. It’s the second time this season Stewart has taken home the honor, and it only sharpens the case that he’s been the league’s most convincing rookie all year.
His first Rookie of the Month win came after the opening month of the 2026 season, when he ripped off a .281/.373/.570 line with nine home runs, 29 RBI, seven stolen bases, and a 152 wRC+. That start put him on the map fast, and he’s stayed there ever since.
Stewart wasn’t the only player to earn the award twice. Colorado Rockies first baseman TJ Rumfield has also won it twice this season, while Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Esmerlyn Valdez was the NL Central standout in July.
Notably absent from that list was JJ Wetherholt, the St. Louis Cardinals second baseman who had been pushed by plenty of national voices for much of the year.
That debate has mostly centered on one number: WAR. For months, many writers and pundits argued Wetherholt was the better rookie because his WAR was nearly double Stewart’s - depending on the source. Reds fans, though, have spent the season seeing something different.
The Reds’ social media team had some fun with that disconnect after Stewart’s latest award. Cincinnati posted a graphic on X showing Stewart’s August stat line, then slipped in a fine print joke: Stewart’s rWAR, or Reds WAR, was 51.3 - a nod to the city’s area code.
“Perhaps the 2-time NL Rookie of the Month, Sal Stewart.”
It was a clear shot at the WAR crowd, and a pretty good one. WAR has value, sure, but it hasn’t been the best lens for this race, at least not from Cincinnati’s point of view. The numbers on the field have told a different story.
And now the race looks tilted even more firmly in Stewart’s favor. Wetherholt is currently on the IL with a wrist injury, while Stewart has piled up 31 home runs and 105 RBI with 22 games left. At this point, he looks like the clear favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year.
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