Sal Stewart finished his first full Major League season with numbers no Reds rookie had ever compiled. Now the Cuban-American has an opportunity to add the National League Rookie of the Year award to a season in which he made history for Cincinnati.
The first baseman was announced Monday as one of three finalists for the award presented by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Joining him are JJ Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals and Carson Benge of the New York Mets. The winner will be announced November 9 at 7 p.m. Miami time on MLB Network.
At 22, Stewart played all 162 games on the schedule, starting 161. He hit .263 with 32 home runs, 112 RBIs and a .787 OPS, becoming the first Cincinnati rookie with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in a season.
His 112 RBIs established a franchise rookie record. His 32 home runs put him alongside Frank Robinson as the only Reds rookies to reach 30. Robinson hit 38 in 1956, when he won the award.
Stewart also finished with 164 hits, the most by a Cincinnati rookie since Pete Rose’s 170 in 1963. Throughout the season, he handled duties at first, second and third base while also serving as the designated hitter.
Sal Stewart’s production makes a strong case.
The Cuban-American led National League rookies in home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits with 57 and total bases with 285. He also tied for second in hits, finished second in runs scored with 87 and ranked third in walks with 63.
His season included an All-Star selection and two National League Rookie of the Month honors, for April and August. Between those awards came a stretch of reduced production, but Stewart regained his form and completed the schedule without missing a game.
The track record of rookies with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs strengthens his candidacy. All nine players who had reached both marks since the award’s creation in 1947 went on to win it. That group includes two Cubans, José Canseco in 1986 and José Abreu in 2014, along with Walt Dropo, Ron Kittle, Mark McGwire, Mike Piazza, Albert Pujols, Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso.
This year’s competition, however, features different strengths from each player.
Wetherholt hit .242 with 17 home runs, 51 RBIs and a .704 OPS in 139 games. His defense at second base was a major component of his value and helped him finish with 4.5 wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference.
Benge hit .282 with a .776 OPS, 20 home runs and 65 RBIs in 156 games. The Mets outfielder accumulated 4.3 WAR by the same calculation, compared with Stewart’s 1.8. That difference incorporates defensive and positional factors that could also influence voters.
Stewart brings the strongest power production and RBI totals among the three finalists. Wetherholt and Benge hold an advantage in a metric designed to capture each player’s overall contribution.
The ballots from the 30 BBWAA voters have already been submitted. Cincinnati hopes the result will make Stewart its first Rookie of the Year since Jonathan India in 2021 and the ninth winner in franchise history.