Sal Stewart Wins NL Rookie Of The Year, Earns PPI Pick For Reds

The Baseball Writers Association of America revealed Monday night that Reds initially baseman Sal Stewart has actually won the National League Rookie of the Year award. The win makes Cincinnati a choice after the preliminary of the 2027 draft by means of the Prospect Promotion Incentive.

Stewart got 20 of 30 first-place votes and was the only gamer in the NL field to land in the leading 5 on every tally. He vanquished Mets outfielder Carson Benge and Cardinals middle infielder JJ Wetherholt for the honors. Benge got 7 first-place votes and was on all however 2 tallies in general, causing the runner-up surface. Wetherholt, who ended up in 3rd, got the 3 other first-place votes.

Nolan McLean TJ Rumfieldand Logan Henderson were the other gamers to get several votes in the leading 3. They respectively ended up 4th, 5th and 6th in the ballot. Bryce Eldridge Didier Fuentesand A.J. Ewing were the only other gamers to appear on tallies (no greater than 5th in their cases).

Stewart debuted last September however stayed novice qualified entering into 2026. He was Cincinnati’s Opening Day initially baseman. Stewart began 110 video games there, 33 at 3rd base, 11 as a designated player, and 7 at 2nd base. He led NL novices with 700 plate looks and struck.263/.330/.457 with 32 crowning achievement, 12 more than any other novice in the league. Stewart blew away the remainder of the field by driving in 112 runs, almost 40 RBI clear of any other first-year gamer. Just Cardinals initially baseman Alec Burleson kept Stewart from leading all NL players because classification, while he ended up eighth in the league in crowning achievement.

The volume and Stewart’s ostentatious counting statistics most likely would’ve made this a runaway in previous periods of baseball. It was more of a borderline case in today’s video game, as park changes for Cincinnati’s hitter-friendly arena and Stewart’s absence of protective worth weighed him down in the eyes of WAR designs. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference graded Stewart at 2 wins above replacement, about half the WAR amounts to for Benge and Wetherholt. Most of citizens positioned a premium on Stewart’s power production in the middle of Terry Francona’s lineup, keeping him at the top of their tallies.

Wetherholt and Benge were Gold Glove finalists at 2nd base and in best field, respectively. Wetherholt appeared to be Stewart’s leading competitors for the bulk of the season, however his bat wilted in the 2nd half around a two-week lack to best wrist tendinitis. Benge, who was among the very best players in the NL after the All-Star Break, wound up being Stewart’s most significant opposition behind a 20-20 season with a. 282/.346/.430 proving.

All 3 finalists fulfilled the requirements for the Prospect Promotion Incentive and opened the year on their particular groups’ MLB lineups. That suggested whoever won the award was ensured to net their group a PPI choice. Stewart’s win protects that choice for Cincinnati– among 3 that’ll be granted next year. Kevin McGonigle made one for Detroit by winning the AL Rookie of the Year, while Parker Messick protected one for Cleveland with a leading 3 surface in AL Cy Young ballot.

Stewart is the Reds’ 2nd Rookie of the Year winner this years and the ninth honoree in club history. Frank Robinson (1956 ), Pete Rose (1963 ), Tommy Helms (1966 ), Johnny Bench (1968 ), Pat Zachry (1976 ), Chris Sabo (1988 ), Scott Williamson (1999) and Jonathan India (2021) are the franchise’s previous winners. They’re connected with the Athletics for fourth-most ROY winners in general, tracking just the Dodgers, Yankees and Braves.

Image thanks to David Banks, Imagn Images.