As Cincinnati falls further out of contention, the rookie's chase for hardware has been a true bright spot.
Sal Stewart has made plenty of noise with his bat this season, but the part of his game that may be making the biggest impression inside the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse has very little to do with the numbers.
It is the way he gets to them.
Stewart is hitting .255 with an .807 OPS, 25 home runs, 87 RBI, 113 hits and 12 stolen bases. He leads the Reds in home runs, RBI, hits and doubles, while sitting among the National League's rookie leaders in nearly every major offensive category.
That production has pushed Stewart into a real Rookie of the Year conversation, with MLB.com's Brian Murphy recently putting him in a tie with Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt for the top spot in the National League.
But Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott believes the reason Stewart has been able to sustain that production is what happens before the ball ever leaves his bat.
“He knows the zone, so that limits chase,” Abbott told Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News. “He has a pretty good idea of what pitches that pitchers will throw in what counts.”
That understanding has allowed Stewart to adjust without abandoning the approach that made him successful in the first place.
Reds manager Terry Francona has seen that evolution firsthand. Stewart was put in the middle of Cincinnati's lineup from the beginning of the season, a responsibility Francona said is difficult for any young player. When opposing pitchers adjusted to him early in the year, Stewart had to respond.
“That's what happened with Sal, but then he's made his adjustments back like good hitters do,” Francona said on MLB Network Radio, via Goldsmith.
Those adjustments have helped turn what could have been a promising rookie season into something much more significant.
Stewart already has 25 home runs, putting him just 13 away from Frank Robinson's Reds rookie record. He is also on pace for 123 RBI, which would surpass Jim Greengrass' franchise rookie mark of 100 set in 1953.
The most recent milestone came Thursday, when Stewart hit his 25th homer and moved past Joey Votto for the second-most home runs by a Reds rookie.
Even Francona couldn't resist poking fun at how Stewart got there. After a long fourth inning against the Reds, Stewart asked whether he should take a pitch before beginning the bottom half. Francona was having none of that, saying, “I said I want you to hit one into the right-field stands.”
Stewart promptly homered to left. “He never listens,” Francona joked.
The humor fits the larger picture of a player who has quickly become one of the defining pieces of Cincinnati's lineup.
Stewart isn't simply producing in the middle of the order. He has also moved around defensively, playing first base, third base and second base depending on what the Reds have needed.
For all the attention his home runs have generated, that versatility has helped make him indispensable.
And with the Rookie of the Year race now essentially a two-player conversation between Stewart and Wetherholt, the next month could determine whether Cincinnati's young slugger can turn an impressive season into a historic one.
