Sal Stewart is surging toward history, chasing a 73-year RBI record and leapfrogging rivals in the awards race while fueling his torrid August hitting streak for Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Reds are in the midst of a three-game losing streak after dropping two straight to the San Francisco Giants. Despite the Bay Area not treating the Reds well, if you look past the poor record, you see one of the Reds’ best players having his best month of the season by a wide margin.
Sal Stewart has hits in 10 straight games after launching a solo home run in the ninth inning against the Giants late Tuesday night. That homer was his 99th RBI of the season as he tries to become the first Reds rookie to hit 100 RBIs since Jim Greengrass in 1953.
Stewart has only had three games in the month of August where he hasn’t recorded a hit. On this 10-game hitting streak, Stewart is hitting .310 with eight runs batted in and two home runs. He has 13 hits and an OPS of .817. In his last 15 games, Stewart’s average is up to .328 with an .861 OPS, 12 runs batted in, and three home runs.
The Miami, FL native came into the month of August with a .255 average and has it up to .263 for the season after last night’s game against the Giants.
On Wednesday afternoon, according to FanDuel, Stewart actually moved ahead of St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt in the NL Rookie of the Year odds. Wetherholt has long been ahead of Stewart, with his WAR significantly ahead of Stewart's due to his abilities as a fielder. However, Stewart has made it undeniable, as his offensive numbers aren’t just good for a rookie, but he currently leads all of MLB in runs batted in with 99, three ahead of another St. Louis Cardinal, first baseman Alec Burleson.
Stewart has been impressively consistent throughout the season and, most importantly, has ridden the roller coaster without letting it snowball into a bad season. That ability to manage his first full season is leading to the best month of his career, as he is on pace to hit 40 points higher than his other best month from an average standpoint. He hit .255 in his first full month in the major leagues with 55 at-bats in September of last season, and is hitting .295 in August.
Despite Stewart moving ahead of Wetherholt, it will be difficult for him to hold on to that lead due to the fact that the Reds have the hardest remaining schedule in the MLB for the rest of the season. However, he should have a very good chance of winning NL Rookie of the Month, or possibly NL Player of the Month in August, especially if he can end the month on a 14-game hitting streak with five games remaining until September.
