The Big Pod Machine: Chasing the playoffs
Reds Beat Reporter Gordon Wittenmyer and Sports Reporter Pat Brennan discuss the current state of the Cincinnati Reds.
The long-awaited MLB debut of Sal Stewart for the Cincinnati Reds first needed a call-up to the bigs, and Stewart has that.
Stewart will be called up by the Reds, an MLB source confirmed Aug. 31.
Stewart, 21, arrives in Cincinnati at the outset of September, and his bat could be useful to the organization as it attempts to stay in the National League playoff race. Rated the No. 33 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, Stewart spent this summer tearing through the Reds’ farm system.
Most recently, Stewart hit .315 in 38 games at Triple-A Louisville. He had 10 homers there and a 1.023 OPS − and that includes what Stewart described to The Enquirer as a disappointing first week with the Louisville Bats after making the jump from Double-A Chattanooga.
With the Chattanooga Lookouts, Stewart hit .306 over 80 games and posted an .850 OPS. He was informed he’d be moving to Triple-A after representing the Lookouts during the Futures Game as part of the MLB All-Star Game festivities.
In a July interview with The Enquirer shortly after Stewart reached Triple-A, Louisville Bats manager Pat Kelly had high praise for the player.
“Obviously, you’ve got to love the bat. It’s a live bat with a very advanced approach,” Kelly said. “Not afraid to use the whole field. He’s got occasional power, which is good to see. Defensively, I see big improvement. He keeps getting better every year and I think he’s getting to the point now where he should be able to stay at third, which is really important.”
Whether or not Stewart stays at third base remains to be seen, and he’s played the field as a first baseman and second baseman in recent weeks. There could be openings for Stewart, but Cincinnati seems to be keeping third base set aside after the Reds acquired winner Ke’Bryan Hayes at the MLB trade deadline.
With Hayes came years of team control. He’s also a past Gold Glove winner at the position and a favorite to win the award again this season in the eyes of some observers.
Another factor that points to Hayes being hard to supplant at third base is that his hitting, which was seen as a weak spot has improved noticeably since joining Cincinnati. Hayes has a .241 batting average with the Reds vs. .236 in 100 games with the Pirates, and has had meaningful offensive contributions during the Reds ongoing playoff race.
Nonetheless, fans who have for weeks clamored for the Stewart call-up have received what they wanted.