There are a lot of big-name hitters in Major League Baseball, but none are hitting better than a rookie for the Cincinnati Reds. Sal Stewart, a 22 year old first baseman, is absolutely on fire.
Stewart, the 32nd overall selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, has had the hottest start of any player in the league to start the season. In his first three games, Stewart went 7/10 with 1 HR, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs and a whooping 2.069 OPS on his way to being named the National League Player of the Week!
Sal Stewart for NLROY pic.twitter.com/j719yFmbxW
— Cincinnati 💔 (@CincyProblems) March 28, 2026
“Obviously, it’s great, and I’m super proud of myself,” Stewart said. “But that’s in the past now, and now it’s time to go and play against the Pirates.”
In his first at bat against the Pirates, Stewart got a single up the middle, which means he is now 8/11 on the season with a .727 batting average!
“When you play good baseball sometimes these things happen,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “He’s extremely confident. If I could hit the ball like that I would be, too. But he backs it up. He prepares really well. I think he should be.”
In addition, Stewart has now become the betting favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year, per Bet MGM. Stewart (+200) has leaped the Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt (+250), Nolan McLean of the Mets and the #1 ranked prospect in baseball, Konnor Griffin, who is currently playing for the Pirates’ Triple A club, the Indianapolis Indians.
Sal Stewart is now the favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year at @BetMGM
Sal Stewart: +200
JJ Wetherholt: +250
Nolan McLean: +600
Konnor Griffin: +800 pic.twitter.com/9a7yqLULLH— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) March 30, 2026
“I just feel like I was swinging at good pitches and sticking to my approach and my game plan,” Stewart said. “Obviously, it was a great weekend, but I’ve just got to keep doing that every cay and sticking to who I am as a player. I’m happy with how I played, but more importantly, I’m happy that we got the series win.”
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