Sal Stewart

Sal Stewart
Stewart with the Louisville Bats in 2025
Cincinnati Reds – No. 27
First baseman / Third baseman
Born: (2003-12-07) December 7, 2003 (age 22)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 2025, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
(through 2026 season)
Batting average.263
Home runs37
Runs batted in119
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Sal Maxwell Stewart (born December 7, 2003) is an American professional baseball first baseman and third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2025. Stewart was named to his first All-Star game in 2026.

Amateur career

Stewart attended Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida, where he played baseball and basketball. As a senior in 2022, he batted .514 with nine home runs, 23 RBIs, and 13 doubles. He ended his high school career playing 91 games while recording a .488 batting average, thirty home runs, 95 RBIs, and 31 doubles. After his senior year, he was named to the 2022 All-USA Today HSSA Baseball Team. He committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Cincinnati Reds selected Stewart with the 32nd overall selection of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the team for $2.1 million.

Stewart made his professional debut in 2022 with the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Reds with whom he batted .295 over eight games. He was assigned to the Daytona Tortugas in Single-A to open the 2023 season. In early August, he was promoted to the High-A Dayton Dragons. Over 117 games between the two affiliates, Stewart batted .275 with 12 home runs and 71 RBI. Stewart remained with Dayton to open the 2024 season. Over eighty games, Stewart hit .279 with eight home runs and 46 RBI before his season was ended in July with a wrist injury. He was assigned to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts to open the 2025 season. After the season, Stewart won both the Southern League Most Valuable Player Award and its Top MLB Prospect Award. In July, he was promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats. He was selected to represent the Reds (alongside Alfredo Duno) at the 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park. Over 118 games between Chattanooga and Louisville, Stewart hit .309 with twenty home runs and eighty RBI.

Major leagues

2025

On August 31, 2025, the Reds announced they would be promoting Stewart to the major leagues for the first time the following day. He made his MLB debut the next day at Great American Ball Park versus the Toronto Blue Jays as Cincinnati's starting first baseman and recorded his first MLB hit, a single off of Chris Bassitt. Stewart recorded his first MLB home run, a two-run home run, on September 6 against Jonah Tong of the New York Mets. Stewart played in 18 games for the Reds in 2025 and hit .255 with five home runs and eight RBI.

2026

Stewart was named to the 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his first All-Star selection. Against the San Francisco Giants on August 26, Stewart became the third rookie ever to reach 100 RBI before any other MLB player that season. Two days later against the Chicago Cubs, he had his 101st RBI, passing Jim Greengrass (1953) for the most by a Reds rookie. One day later, he became the first Reds rookie to achieve a 30-homer, 100-RBI season. Stewart finished the 2026 season with a .263/.330/.457 slash line, 32 home runs, and 112 RBI across 162 games.

Career accomplishments

Cincinnati Reds franchise records

Personal life

Stewart is a Christian.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Weinrib, Ben. "Here are 19 prospects who also starred on the basketball court". MLB.com. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Poll: Who do you think was the best spring high school athlete in Miami-Dade? Vote now". Miamiherald.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Sports". Miamiherald.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Meet the nominees for All-USA Today HSSA Baseball Player of the Year!". USA Today.
  5. ↑ "15 Vanderbilt baseball names to know for the 2022 MLB Draft". The Tennessean.
  6. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds pick Vanderbilt baseball signee Sal Stewart in 2022 MLB Draft". The Tennessean.
  7. ↑ "Westminster Christian's Sal Stewart brings massive power to Reds on Day 1 of MLB draft". Miamiherald.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Reds 2022 Draft signings tracker". Mlb.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Sal Stewart Stats, Fantasy & News".
  10. ↑ "Where the Reds' Top 30 prospects are starting season". MLB.com.
  11. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds promote Sal Stewart to High-A Dayton". August 7, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Sal Stewart Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News".
  13. ↑ "Dragons Announce Roster—Two Most Recent Reds #1 Picks to Play in Dayton".
  14. ↑ "Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'".
  15. ↑ Clark, Dave. "Who is Sal Stewart? Top Reds' infield prospect hits walk-off grand slam for Chattanooga". The Enquirer.
  16. ↑ Weinrib, Ben. "The 2025 Double-A All-Stars and Award Winners". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on September 24, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds 3B prospect Sal Stewart on promotion to AAA, appearance in Futures Game". The Enquirer.
  18. ↑ "Team-by-team breakdown of every player headed to Futures Game". MLB.com.
  19. ↑ "Reds promote slugging top prospect Sal Stewart". MLB.com.
  20. ↑ "Sal Stewart: Reds 2025 Minor League Player of the Year". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  21. ↑ Kuffner, Greg (August 31, 2025). "Cincinnati Reds Making Big Move to Bolster Lineup for Final Stretch of Season". Cincinnati Reds On SI. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  22. ↑ Sheldon, Mark (September 1, 2025). "Sal Stewart arrives for his Major League debut with Reds". MLB.com. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  23. ↑ Wallner, Jeff (September 7, 2025). "Sal Stewart hits first MLB home run in win over Mets". MLB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  24. ↑ Sheldon, Mark (October 16, 2025). "These 3 Reds prospects have big year ahead of them". MLB.com. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Reds' wave of the future continues as Burns, Stewart named All-Stars". MLB.com. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Reds' Sal Stewart joins Jose Canseco, Ted Williams with rare MLB rookie feat | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. August 27, 2026. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
  27. ↑ Pouliot, Matthew (August 28, 2026). "Sal Stewart homers, tops Reds' rookie RBI record". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
  28. ↑ "3CA! Cubs superstar adds 1st career 3-HR game to MVP resume". MLB.com. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
  29. ↑ Wittenmyer, Gordon. "'We have to get tougher.' Reds 2026 numbers tell story of weak season". The Enquirer. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  30. ↑ Mercer, Kevin. "Reds rookie Sal Stewart a bright spot for Cincinnati, knows 'my identity is in Christ'". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved July 27, 2026.