Sal Stewart Is Blossoming Into a Star

When the Cincinnati Reds fell to the Dodgers in last year’s playoffs,the team entered the offseason with a clear need: offensive help. Pitching had carried them to the postseason, but in order to return they would need to add a couple of bats to balance the team’s heavy reliance on the rotation.

Cincinnati only made one addition to their starting lineup, reuniting Eugenio Suárez on a one-year deal. While the Suárez signing was a great move, many felt the offense still did not have enough juic or balance to lift the Reds to the next level.

We are quickly learning that lift is coming from within in the form of Sal Stewart‘s breakout.

Stewart, the 32nd-overall selection in the 2022 draft, debuted in 2025 with inconsistent playing time, but his flashes of talent caught the eyes of many. It might only have been 18 games, but you could tell the ball came off his bat a little differently. It was truly effortless power, combined with a plus hit tool that simply needed some fine tuning.

All indications were that Stewart had the ability to develop into a plus hitter over the next few years. Well, we don’t have to wait a few years because the breakout is here.

Stats were taken prior to play on April 21.

Advanced Beyond His Years

Across 55 at-bats last season, Stewart slashed .255/.293/.545 with five home runs, a low walk rate, and a high strikeout rate. When he made contact, it was loud. But you could also see issues with his pitch recognition, and it felt like he was perhaps trying to do too much at the plate at times.

The improvements we are seeing to start this season is a definite step in the right direction. Stewart has dropped his chase rate from 32% down to 27%. In my opinion, continuous improvement on dropping his chase rate is what will truly unlock Stewart’s full potential.

Swinging at balls is obviously going to help pitchers get ahead, and the results and quality of contact will not be ideal even if you do make contact. The more Stewart lays off balls outside of the zone, the more pitches he will see that he could do damage with.

Let’s take Monday’s home run for example. After falling behind 0-2, Stewart laid off an inside sinker, the same pitch and location he swung through the pitch prior. With a 1-2 count, Jesse Scholtens went with breaking balls low and away, neither drawing a swing, leading to a full count.

Scholtens now had to go fastball and Stewart was ready, launching his eighth home run of the season.

Sal Stewart goes 424 for his 8th homer of the year!

He joins Yordan Alvarez as the only players with at least 8 HR and 20 RBI this season 💪pic.twitter.com/nChvZ5HLup

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) April 20, 2026

You could say, “Well, that was right down the middle,” and you’d be right. But that’s the reward for working a count deep and cornering a pitcher into coming back with a fastball and making him hit his location.

Taking advantage of missing command is what makes so many batters great. Stewart earned that pitch.

When Stewart was coming up through the minors, his power numbers were not jumping off the page. But if you watched him often enough, you could see the power potential. It was hard contact after hard contact after hard contact.

Matching that with better lift was the next step, and we saw that growth start in 2025.

He’s carried that trend into 2026, posting an average exit velocity of 91.2 mph, a 48.5% hard-hit rate, and a 22.7% barrel rate. That’s the type of impact that drives power, but in a way that is a safer profile than someone who only brings power.

This is not a three-true-outcome hitter who sells out for pull-side home runs and nothing else — Stewart is a more complete package.

His approach at the plate is all fields. In fact, his distribution is 33% pull, 32% center, and 35% opposite field. An ability to hit to all fields eliminates a pitcher’s ability to attack one location and neutralize pull-side power by simply living down and away.

As you can see from his spray chart, Stewart is not at the plate trying to do too much. He’s pushing outside pitches to right field and driving high and away pitches into the seats. The power to right and center field is impressive, especially for such a young player. I’m sure the pull-side power will come into play more, but for now it hasn’t been needed.

Although his value is highest at the plate, he is making an impact on the bases as well. A 6-foot-1 and 224-pound build might not be your traditional burner, and Stewart doesn’t fall into that category. However, his baseball IQ has helped him with reads and feel, which has led to taking an extra 90 feet.

This is not only seen by going first to third or stretching out a double. Stewart is stealing bases based off smart opportunities and good jumps, not his speed. In fact, Stewart’s five stolen bases matches Elly De La Cruz’s total from this year. Isn’t that something?

Final Thoughts

Last season’s tiny sample was a taste of what would come this year.

Stewart has shown that he is a complete hitter, and although he is still developing, he is quickly becoming the best hitter on the Reds. I’m sure we will see a slump at some point, but how will pitchers attack? There’s not a clear-cut hole his his offensive game at the moment, and that alone is quite impressive.

Cincinnati needed another impact bat in their lineup, and Sal Stewart is providing just that.

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