The 2026 National League Rookie of the Year race ended the way a lot of people expected it might when the season began: with Sal Stewart on top.
The Cincinnati Reds infielder was announced Monday night as the winner, beating out St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt and New York Mets outfielder Carson Benge, the three finalists revealed last week. Stewart’s season gave him a clear edge by the time the votes were counted, and the gap in the final tally showed it.
Stewart opened the year like a player ready to force the issue. After a strong debut in the final month of 2025, he jumped right into the 2026 season with three straight multi-hit games and four extra-base hits in the opening series against the Boston Red Sox.
That pace was never going to hold, but the early surge set the tone. By the end of April, he had 15 extra-base hits, nine home runs, and 29 RBI in 31 games.
May brought his toughest stretch. In the first 14 games of the month, Stewart managed just one RBI and hit .155.
But he steadied after that and took off again. From mid-May through the All-Star break, he hit .272/.350/.487 with nine more home runs, 14 doubles, and 35 RBI.
By the break, he already had 19 homers. Only one National League rookie matched that total over the full season - Carson Benge, who finished with 20.
Stewart kept producing after his first All-Star appearance. From the start of the second half through September 6, he played in 48 games and hit .290/.338/.500 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI.
He did fade a bit at the end, though, posting a .536 OPS over his final 19 games and driving in just five runs. His OPS fell from .821 to .787 in that stretch.
Even with that late dip, the full-season line was loud: .263/.330/.457 with 25 doubles, 32 home runs, 112 RBI, 87 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. Those 32 homers and 112 RBI led all National League rookies, and by wide margins. Stewart hit 60% more home runs than the next closest rookie in the NL and drove in 53% more runs than the next closest rookie in the NL.
The award also put Stewart in some rare Reds company. He became the ninth player in franchise history to win Rookie of the Year, joining Frank Robinson, Jonathan India, Pete Rose, Tommy Helms, Johnny Bench, Pat Zachry, Chris Sabo and Scott Williamson. Robinson was the first Reds winner in 1958, and India was the most recent before Stewart in 2021.
The voting was not nearly as tight as many around the game expected. Stewart received 20 of the 30 first-place votes and appeared on every ballot. He finished with 170 points, while Benge was second with 107 points and seven first-place votes.
The only voter who left Stewart out of the top four was Brenden Schaeffer, who had him fifth. Schaeffer covers the St.
Louis Cardinals for MLB.com. Pat Brennan and Charlie Goldsmith, the Cincinnati writers selected to vote for the award, both put Stewart first.
Winning the award also brings a bonus for the Reds: an additional draft pick in 2027 through the Prospect Promotion Incentive, which rewards teams for not keeping top prospects in the minors longer than necessary.
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Jonathan Stewart Just Delivered A Reds Rookie Season Fans Wont Forget
Jonathan Stewarts first full season in Cincinnati ended with the kind of recognition that usually follows a breakout year, not just a promising one. The Baseball Writers Association of America named him National League Rookie of the Year after a campaign in which he played all 162 games, hit .263 and powered the Reds lineup with 32 home runs and 112 RBIs.
For a club that spent the season leaning on his bat, Stewarts production stood out not only across the league but in franchise history, where he reset the rookie standard for power and run production. He led NL rookies in several offensive categories and gave the Reds a middle-of-the-order presence they could count on every day, even as the bigger question now is what comes next after a season like this. [Read more 🡒]
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The fit is not straightforward, though. Cincinnati does not have the kind of long-standing ties to Nippon Professional Baseball that make these moves feel routine, so any pursuit would require real conviction and a willingness to step outside the usual market. For a club trying to protect itself against possible departures on the mound, the appeal is obvious, even if the path to getting there is still unclear. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Have Every Reason To Push Back On This Award Race
Sal Stewart gave the Reds plenty to feel good about in his rookie season, and the bat alone made him one of the most productive first-year players in the National League. He finished third in the league in RBIs and added 32 home runs, the kind of power output that can carry a lineup and shape an award race all by itself.
Still, Rookie of the Year is rarely decided on offense alone, and this one has a few layers for anyone looking beyond the counting stats. The finalists include Stewart, Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt and Mets right fielder Carson Benge, and the broader numbers paint a different picture, with Wetherholt and Benge bringing more complete value across the board. For Reds fans, the case for Stewart is obvious, but so is the argument that the race may be tighter than his home run total suggests. [Read more 🡒]