MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 06: Matt McLain #9 and Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrate an out against the Miami Marlins in the ninth inning of the game at loanDepot park on April 06, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Megan Briggs
Getty Images
It wasn’t hard to find Sal Stewart’s support group at loanDepot park on Monday night.
The Cincinnati Reds first baseman, a former prep star at Miami Westminster Christian, said he had somewhere between 150 and 170 people set to attend his game against the hometown Miami Marlins. Many of them were in a three-row group in Section 8 behind the Reds’ dugout along the first-base line.
“You will [hear them], for sure,” Stewart said.
They made their presence known when he stepped up to the plate for his first at-bat in the first inning.
And they were heard again in the fourth when he sent a middle-middle Janson Junk fastball past a diving Leo Jimenez and into center field for an RBI single to open scoring in the Reds’ eventual 2-0 win to begin the four-game series.
It was another productive day early in the season for Stewart, the Reds’ top-ranked prospect and the No. 19 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline.
And it came on a day the 22-year-old had circled on his calendar once the schedule came out.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 06: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds slides to second base against Leo Jiménez #19 of the Miami Marlins in the fourth inning of the game at loanDepot park on April 06, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) Megan Briggs Getty Images
Stewart came to loanDepot park often growing up. He still remembers the home-run sculpture that was situated in left-center field that went off every time a Marlins player hit a homer. As a kid, he told his dad that he couldn’t wait for it to go off whenever he would hit a home run at his home ballpark. He got goosebumps even bringing that up pregame Monday.
“We did this drive coming to watch Marlins games all the time,” Stewart said from his locker in the visiting clubhouse before the game. “It kind of felt weird coming to the stadium so early and that actually people are going to want to come watch me or watch our team, but this is where I grew up; it’s in my blood. Everyone knows how much Miami means to me.”
They also know how much winning means to Stewart.
So while there was nostalgia playing here for the first time as a big-leaguer, Stewart also understood the task at hand.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got a game to win,” Stewart said. “[The memories and emotions are] fine and dandy and all, but once we get in between those lines, it’s time to go to work and time to win a game. … I’ve got to put those emotions to the side a little bit.”
Stewart once again played a heavy part in the latest win for the Reds (7-3). His fourth-inning single up the middle drove in Elly De La Cruz from second base to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead in a game that was defined by quality starting pitching — the Marlins’ Junk tossed a career-high 7 1/3 innings, while Cincinnati’s Brandon Williamson held a scrappy Marlins lineup to three hits and one walk over 6 2/3 shutout innings before turning things over to the Reds’ bullpen.
Tyler Stephenson doubled the Reds’ lead with a solo home run off Junk in the eighth.
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Dade Baseball Player of the Year Sal Stewart, from Westminster Christian School, is photographed at A.D. Barnes Park in Miami, Florida on Monday, May 23, 2022. MATIAS J. OCNER mocner@miamiherald.com
MLB Pipeline scouting report of Stewart notes his “advanced approach” that was a strength of his going back to his high school days at Westminster Christian. He was the Miami Herald’s co-Baseball Player of the Year for Classes 5A-2A as a senior in 2022 after hitting .514 with nine home runs, 13 doubles, 23 RBI and 46 runs scored for a Warriors team that reached the Class 3A regional finals. He drew 30 walks while striking out just nine times.
“A lot of people play sports because they’re good at it or their parents want them to, but I genuinely just love to play the game,” Stewart said at the time. “I like going out there and playing with the guys that I have and training. A lot of guys don’t like that. I love it. I thrive in it. It’s what makes me the player that I am.”
MLB Pipeline had Stewart ranked as the No. 78 overall prospect for the 2022 MLB Draft, noting that he “has the chance to hit with a solid approach at the plate and legitimate raw power he already knows how to tap into.”
The Reds picked him No. 32 overall that year, and he made it to the big leagues in just three years. Stewart played 18 games for Cincinnati in September last season, producing a .255 batting average with five home runs and a respectable .838 on-base-plus-slugging mark while learning to play first base.
After going 1 for 4 on Monday, Stewart is hitting .353 with a 1.094 OPS through the first 10 games of the 2026 season.
“What we want to see him do is just be as good a player as he can be,” Reds manager Terry Francona said, “because that’s good enough. When you start asking a guy, ‘You’ve got to pull the ball,’ ‘You’ve got to do this now,’ [it should be] ‘Just be as good a player, try to get better.’ He’s such an advanced hitter, and we’re seeing that he uses the whole field. He understands the importance of baserunning and playing defense. He’s taking accountability and ownership of his game, which, for a young kid, that’s impressive.”
CINCINNATI, OHIO – MARCH 29: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds watches his double during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park on March 29, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) Jeff Dean Getty Images
What’s also impressive: Stewart’s mentality. Yes, he’s off to a strong start to his MLB career.
But he also knows it’s just that — a start.
And that he’s just one piece to the puzzle for the Reds’ overall success.
“I’m happy with where I’m at so far, but we haven’t done anything, man,” Stewart said pregame Friday. “We’ve played, what, nine games? Yeah, just got to stay focused, stay ready, and go help the team win. It’s not about me; it’s about our team.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 9:46 PM.
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.