The past few weeks have seen potential playoff teams call up rookies, and the Reds will join that group in September. Sal Stewart, one of the Reds’ 2022 first-round picks, will get the call after a scorching-hot second half with Triple-A Louisville.
A Look at Stewart
It’s been a torrid past few weeks for Reds prospect Sal Stewart, who hit four of his 20 home runs this season just in the last two weeks.
Stewart, the 32nd overall pick out of Westminster Christian High School in Miami three years ago, hit very well in his first pro season back in 2023. The now-21-year-old posted a .811 OPS and 36 extra-base hits between Low-A and High-A that season.
He spent time on the IL last year and only played 80 games. Stewart earned himself a non-roster invite to Spring Training this past spring.
However, in 2025, Stewart rolled through Double-A and Triple-A. Stewart slashed .306/.377/.473 (.850 OPS) across 80 games with Chattanooga before a mid-July promotion to Louisville. Triple-A pitchers didn’t stop him there, as Stewart cracked 15 extra-base hits (six home runs) with a 1.018 OPS in his last month.
Standing at 6’1” and roughly 225 pounds, Stewart is a hulking figure with likely above-average power. He showed more hit than power over the past few years before this season, and I’ll get to that in a second. But by and large, he does have intriguing power potential in a hitter-friendly ballpark.
Now, Stewart — who holds his hands up high above the letters — won’t get cheated on fastballs. During the month and a half he was in Louisville, Stewart whiffed at fastballs 24.6% of the time. On the flip side, 28 of his 45 hits were off the heat, 12 of which were extra-base hits.
Getting back to the contact & power, Stewart didn’t do much two years ago down in the FSL. His Barrel/PA was .9% two seasons ago with Daytona. Fast forward to Triple-A, and that same ratio was 15.2%. He produced significantly better quality contact.
One note to watch with Stewart was that he liked to expand the zone (31.5% Chase%) in Triple-A. Roughly 38% of those swings resulted Aft of his games at third this season. He made just four errors at the hot corner. Additionally, Stewart started 17 games at second this season, one year after he split his time roughly down the middle (36 at 2B, 33 at 3B) last season.
MLB.com reported that Sal Stewart will be called up by the Reds when rosters expand on September 1.
Analysis
Stewart is part of the “next wave” of Reds infield talent accumulated over the past few seasons. The first wave saw Noelvi Marte, Matt McLain, and Elly De La Cruz head to the Majors.
The 21-year-old Stewart figures to be a key piece for the Reds not just over the last few weeks but moving forward. A revolving door of young talent can keep Cincinnati’s roster fresh and affordable over the next few seasons, and Stewart figures to be part of the next group that could include Edwin Arroyo and Cam Collier (Collier was drafted ahead of Stewart in 2022).
In the interim, the Reds are getting a bat who, as of this writing, was tearing up the Triple-A circuit. His versatility should be welcomed, as Stewart could figure in at second base, given that Ke’Bryan Hayes has hit well since joining the Reds.
Matt McLain has hitter better over the last few weeks. But as a whole, his .222/.302/.343 (.645 OPS) slash line is below the league average.
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