The Baseball Writers Association of America announced Monday evening that Reds first baseman Sal Stewart has won the National League Rookie of the Year award. The win earns Cincinnati a pick after the first round of the 2027 draft via the Prospect Promotion Incentive.
Stewart received 20 of 30 first-place votes and was the only player in the NL field to land in the top five on every ballot. He beat out Mets outfielder Carson Benge and Cardinals middle infielder JJ Wetherholt for the honors. Benge received seven first-place votes and was on all but two ballots overall, leading to the runner-up finish. Wetherholt, who finished in third, received the three other first-place votes.
Nolan McLean, TJ Rumfield, and Logan Henderson were the other players to receive one or more votes in the top three. They respectively finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the voting. Bryce Eldridge, Didier Fuentes, and A.J. Ewing were the only other players to appear on ballots (no higher than fifth in their cases).
Stewart debuted last September but remained rookie eligible going into 2026. He was Cincinnati’s Opening Day first baseman. Stewart started 110 games there, 33 at third base, 11 as a designated hitter, and seven at second base. He led NL rookies with 700 plate appearances and hit .263/.330/.457 with 32 home runs, 12 more than any other rookie in the league. Stewart blew away the rest of the field by driving in 112 runs, nearly 40 RBI clear of any other first-year player. Only Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson kept Stewart from leading all NL hitters in that category, while he finished eighth in the league in home runs.
The volume and Stewart’s gaudy counting stats probably would’ve made this a runaway in previous eras of baseball. It was more of a borderline case in today’s game, as park adjustments for Cincinnati’s hitter-friendly stadium and Stewart’s lack of defensive value weighed him down in the eyes of WAR models. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference graded Stewart at two wins above replacement, about half the WAR totals for Benge and Wetherholt. The majority of voters placed a premium on Stewart’s power production in the middle of Terry Francona’s lineup, keeping him at the top of their ballots.
Wetherholt and Benge were Gold Glove finalists at second base and in right field, respectively. Wetherholt seemed to be Stewart’s top competition for the bulk of the season, but his bat wilted in the second half around a two-week absence to right wrist tendinitis. Benge, who was one of the best hitters in the NL after the All-Star Break, ended up being Stewart’s biggest challenger behind a 20-20 season with a .282/.346/.430 showing.
All three finalists met the criteria for the Prospect Promotion Incentive and opened the year on their respective teams’ MLB rosters. That meant whoever won the award was guaranteed to net their team a PPI pick. Stewart’s win secures that pick for Cincinnati — one of three that’ll be awarded next year. Kevin McGonigle earned one for Detroit by winning the AL Rookie of the Year, while Parker Messick secured one for Cleveland with a top three finish in AL Cy Young voting.
Stewart is the Reds’ second Rookie of the Year winner this decade 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 tied with the Athletics for fourth-most ROY winners overall, trailing only the Dodgers, Yankees and Braves.
Image courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images.
