Sal Stewart’s Rookie of the Year votes were perfect end to Reds-Cardinals JJ Wetherholt debate

All year long, the conversation around the NL Rookie of the Year race centered on Sal Stewart and JJ Wetherholt. A pair of New York Mets (Carson Benge and Nolan McLean) certainly made the picture a little more crowded, but the expectation has long been that the winner of the award would hail from the Cincinnati Reds or St. Louis Cardinals.

I know many, myself included, got a little nervous that Stewart had cost himself in the race with a tough finish to the season; he posted a 56 wRC+ in September, hurting his bottom line with -0.5 fWAR during the month. The door was at least cracked open for someone else to make a late push for the Rookie of the Year award.

In the end, the voting wasn't even close. Stewart lapped the competition, earning 20 out of a possible 30 first-place votes, 13 more than the second-place finisher... who was Benge. Yes, after all the debating, Wetherholt only barely finished inside the top three.

Sal Stewart cruised to Rookie of the Year award thanks to massive advantage in traditional offensive stats

There's certainly going to be people upset by the results, given everyone's stats; Wetherholt finished with more than double Stewart's fWAR total (4.6 to 2.0), generating a ton of value on defense to go along with his strong showing at the plate.

However, Stewart piled up the numbers that mattered most to voters. He beat Wetherholt in terms of home runs (32 to 17), steals (15 to 14), wRC+ (112 to 101), and obliterated him (and the whole field) in RBIs, ranking third in all of baseball with 112. Traditional counting stats may not be in vogue anymore, but when the gap is that apparent, the voters are going to be swayed.

It's also worth noting that Wetherholt also stumbled down the stretch, which surely hurt his candidacy. His September numbers included a 55 wRC+ and no homers or steals, completely lacking any substance when the race got tight. One could definitely argue that he deserved a little more love on the back of his tremendous defense at second base (+25 Outs Above Average), but that was never going to be enough when Stewart held the advantage in basically every key offensive category.

In the end, Stewart came out on top decisively, giving the Reds their first Rookie of the Year winner since Jonathan India in 2021. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are still waiting for someone to break their 25-year drought, dating back to Albert Pujols' legendary rookie season in 2001.

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