The 2026 Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year awards went to two players who made their cases in very different ways.
On Monday night, Kevin McGonigle was named the American League winner for the Detroit Tigers, while Sal Stewart took home the National League honor for the Cincinnati Reds. The BBWAA website has the full results.
McGonigle’s win in the AL wasn’t really a surprise once the votes came in. He collected 28 of the 30 first-place votes, with Parker Messick getting the other two and Payton Tolle finishing behind them.
Even so, the race was tighter in substance than the final tally suggests. Comparing a position player and a pitcher is never simple, and Messick made a strong push with a season that included a sub-2.60 ERA over 186.1 innings.
That kind of year usually puts a rookie right in the center of the award conversation.
McGonigle, though, had a season that kept stacking up numbers in every direction. He led the American League with a 7.1 bWAR, hit .278 with 18 home runs and 12 stolen bases, and appeared in 156 of 162 games.
Add in above-average defense at premium positions, and the case got hard to beat. He also posted the second-lowest chase percentage in the majors, a wild number for a rookie and one more sign of how polished his season really was.
After winning, McGonigle said: “It feels great… I don’t really know how to put it into words. I’m just super grateful for this season, and I went out and worked my butt off to play for this team and help this team win as much as I could… I just want to thank the coaches and my teammates, my family and my friend, and the community of Delaware County for all their support throughout this journey. It’s hard to put into words, and I am just super grateful and humble, and thankful for this.”
He is the first Tigers player to win Rookie of the Year since Michael Fulmer in 2016, and the most recent Tigers position player to do it since Lou Whitaker in 1978. The eight-year, $150 million extension he signed early in the season already looks like a huge win for Detroit, and now the challenge shifts to what comes next after a historic rookie year.
The NL vote was much more of a knife fight. Stewart beat out Carson Benge and JJ Wetherholt, getting 20 first-place votes to Benge’s seven and Wetherholt’s three.
The race changed shape a few times over the season. Wetherholt jumped out early, but injuries derailed his run.
Stewart then surged with his bat, and Benge made things interesting late with his best month while Stewart’s finish was shakier.
The numbers show why the debate stayed alive. Wetherholt finished at 4.5 bWAR, Benge at 4.3, and Stewart at 2.0.
But Stewart’s counting stats and his presence in the lineup carried the day. He debuted in 2025, yet kept his rookie eligibility for 2026, and then put together a first full season with 32 home runs and 112 runs batted in.
For a rookie in a Reds lineup that needed offense, those were massive numbers.
Just as important, Stewart played every game. That durability may have been the edge in a race where availability mattered as much as production. His own words after winning made that clear.
“I’m confident in who I am and confident in the work I put in and the people around me… I love to envision things. I felt like I could go out there, and I knew what I was capable of… my job was to just go out there, stay healthy and be me.”
He added: “Being available to your teammates every single day… my teammates appreciate that. And I want them to know that I’m always there for them.”
Stewart is the first Red to win Rookie of the Year since Jonathan India in 2021. He now heads into his sophomore season with questions to answer after a somewhat disappointing finish, but the rookie campaign still showed exactly what made him stand out: real power, real production, and the kind of reliability a team can count on every day.
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