Reds' rookie Sal Stewart earned his Silver Slugger status the old-fashioned way

Sal Stewart is among the finalists for this year's Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger award presented by FanSided. The Cincinnati Reds rookie landed in the utility player category alongside San Diego Padres' star Fernando Tatis Jr. and and NLCS MVP Jake Bauers of the World Champion Milwaukee Brewers.

Stewart spent most of the season covering first base for the Reds, but also appeared in 45 games at third base and played an additional eight at the keystone. Tatis, who's earned two Platinum Gloves in right field previously, split time between the outfield and second base last season, while Bauers manned first base and both corner outfield spots.

Interestingly enough, Stewart was named a finalist due to his counting stats. In a day and age where everyone seems obsessed with expected batting average, barrel rate, and every other off-the-wall measurable you can think of, Stewart got here by doing things the old fashioned way.

Reds' star Sal Stewart took an old-school approach to become a Silver Slugger finalist in 2026

When you put Stewart's stat line side-by-side against Tatis and Bauers, he stands head and shoulders above both of them in home runs (32) and RBI (111). Bauers racked up 26 homers while Tatis hit 25. Both sluggers came in more than 25 RBI behind Stewart this past season.

But when you step into the advanced metrics like OPS+, the difference between Stewart and his contemporaries becomes rather stark. Stewart posted a 117 OPS+, but Bauers (140 OPS+) and Tatis (130 OPS+) have him beat in that category. Another popular one is wRC+. Stewart registered a 112 wRC+ in 2026, but Bauers (143 wRC+) and Tatis (131 wRC+) clearly outpaced the Reds' rookie in that category as well.

But Stewart still did enough in 2026 to get noticed. How the voters — a group made up of managers and coaches — look at the offensive statistics will go a long way toward deciding whether or not Stewart takes home the NL Silver Slugger award for a utility player this season.

We won't know the winners for a couple more weeks, but with both Stewart and Elly De La Cruz in the mix, the Reds are hoping to add some more hardware to the trophy case this winter.

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