Reds' rookie Sal Stewart is making the JJ Wetherholt hype look more fragile by the day

For some strange reason, St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt is leading the NL Rookie of the Year conversation, despite the fact that Cincinnati Reds' slugger Sal Stewart outpaces him in almost every single offensive category. The Cardinals second baseman remains the rookie darling in the eyes of many MLB's so-called experts and pundits, and the reason for it is obvious.

A side-by-side comparison of stats quickly reveals the gap between Stewart and Wetherholt. The Reds' rookie leads in hits, home runs, RBI, stolen bases, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, and wRC+. The only metric that favors the Cardinals' rookie is on-base percentage; a category he leads by just two points over Stewart.

The only reason that Wetherholt is receiving the spotlight over Stewart — besides the fact he plays for the Cardinals and not the Reds — is his defense. Wetherholt plays a premium middle infield position and has been worth 8 defensive runs saved (DRS) and 10 outs above average (OAA).

Sal Stewart's defense has been on full display after Reds moved him to third base

Defense matters, there's no denying that. But as Reds fans saw earlier this season with Ke'Bryan Hayes, a Gold Glove doesn't matter if you can't produce at the plate. Obviously Wetherholt's production hasn't been as abysmal as Hayes, but he's only hitting .245 with .756 OPS. Stewart, however, has a .261 batting average and .827 OPS on the year.

But with Hayes on the injured list nursing a bulging disc in his back, the Reds have been giving Stewart more reps at third base. Playing the hot corner is not a foreign concept at all for the 22-year-old, and he's flashed the leather on more than one occasion since making the move.

While Stewart's defense will never be considered elite, he's more than held his own. He's been worth 1 DRS at third base this season and remains neutral when using the OAA metric to measure his defensive ability.

Over his last 10 games, five of his starts have come at third base, and he's seen time at the hot corner in two other games during that stretch as well. He's hit .316/.409/.474 with a 144 wRC+ over the past week and half, and is steadily returning to the guy who took home NL Player of the Month honors for March/ April.

It's a long season, and both Stewart and Wetherholt will have their ups and downs over the next several months. But let's not pretend that defense will be deciding factor when it comes to who will take home the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Don't forget that Jonathan India (with 0 DRS and -8 OAA) won it in 2021 for goodness sakes.

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