Sal Stewart didn’t need long to answer the question at All-Star Media Day on Monday. Asked by FanSided’s Adam Weinrib which minor leaguer he’d most like to see join the Reds for the second half of the 2026 season, the Cincinnati rookie went straight to Héctor Rodríguez.
“You guys will know the name Héctor Rodríguez really soon,” Stewart said. “He's a very, very good player and I think he's going to make an immediate impact.”
That kind of praise carries extra weight coming from someone who knows Rodríguez well. Stewart and Rodríguez spent years together in the minors, crossing paths often from 2023 through last season, when both were with the Louisville Bats in mid-July. Stewart later earned a September call-up and landed on the Reds’ 2026 Opening Day roster, while Rodríguez was left in the minors for more seasoning.
Rodríguez has made that wait look pretty justified on his own terms. He’s been on a tear all season for Louisville, and the numbers back it up: in 89 games, he’s hitting .284/.364/.546 with 23 home runs, 60 RBI, six stolen bases, and a 131 wRC+.
So the obvious question is why he’s still not in Cincinnati. It’s a fair one.
The Reds’ outfield has not exactly locked things down, with JJ Bleday standing out as the exception while much of the rest of the group has been underwhelming. Even so, the club still has big expectations for Noelvi Marte in right field, and Terry Francona has also leaned into playing Blake Dunn and TJ Frield this season.
Still, August feels like a natural window for Rodríguez to finally get his shot. After everything he’s done in the minors, there doesn’t seem to be much left for him to prove.
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Lebron is the kind of pick that can get people talking quickly because there is a little more room for interpretation than with the consensus names at the top. A rough junior year may have nudged him down some boards, but the Reds still saw enough talent and athleticism to make him part of their draft class, which is exactly the sort of profile that tends to draw attention once the first wave of draft chatter settles and people start sorting out who might have slipped a bit. [Read more 🡒]