Cincinnati Reds Executive Explains Sal Stewart’s Growth Before 2026 MLB Season

The Cincinnati Reds have established big-league talent in players like shortstop Elly De La Cruz and third baseman Eugenio Suarez, but first/third baseman Sal Stewart needs to prove himself as he enters his first full big-league season. The 22-year-old is on the right track so far, as he's 11-for-31 with two homers, six RBIs, eight walks, and four stolen bases in spring training.

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Reds director of player development Jeremy Farrell talked about Stewart's hitting talent on Sunday, via MLB.com's Sam Dykstra.

“From Day One of him being a young high-school hitter in A ball, he has wanted to be a hitter first,” he said. “As he's gotten a little bit older, he's gotten a little bit stronger, he's worked on his body, the power has started to come, and it's come naturally. He's not chasing it. He's picking his spots, and while doing so, he hasn't lost the ability to be a complete hitter, to use the whole field, to go the other way with two strikes.”

Stewart displayed both power and contact-hitting chops in the minor leagues, as he slashed .289/.390/.466 with 40 homers and 202 RBIs over 323 career games. That included a 38-game Triple-A stint in which he slashed .315/.394/.629 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs last season.

Stewart then got his first big-league call-up last September and recorded an .838 OPS with five homers and eight RBIs over 18 contests. The Florida native has made Cincinnati look smart so far for selecting him No. 32 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, but the next step is to produce over an entire big-league campaign. If he keeps developing, he could be a star alongside De La Cruz on a playoff-caliber squad for years to come.

Sal Stewart's Stats Reflect Jeremy Farrell's AssessmentCincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart. © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Stewart is on the right trajectory, as Farrell mentioned. The 6-foot-1, 224-pounder's minor-league slugging percentage went up from .415 in 2023 to .454 in 2024 and .524 last season while his batting average went from .275 to .279 to .309, respectively. That increase was on top of facing progressively better competition, as he went from A-ball to High-A in 2023 and from Double-A to Triple-A in 2025.

Stewart is projected to be Cincinnati's starting first baseman, a position he played in September and has worked to learn ever since, per MLB.com. He's a natural third baseman, but switching to first was the best way for him to get playing time at the top level, especially now that the Reds have Suarez again after signing him in February.

Stewart is the organization's top-ranked prospect and is No. 22 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects List. Cincinnati also has A-ball catcher Alfredo Duno (No. 38), Rookie League shortstop Steele Hall (No. 83), and MLB right-handed pitcher Rhett Lowder (No. 86).

Up next for the Reds is a spring training matchup with the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.

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