Reds first baseman Sal Stewart was named NL Rookie of the Year as awards week kicked off last night. Stewart played in all 162 games for the Reds and was great in the counting stats. He totaled 32 home runs, 112 RBI, and had 15 stolen bases. He also hit very well with runners in scoring position, a .301 batting average and .564 slugging percentage.

He also had -3 Defensive Runs Saved split between first, second, and third base.

Both Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt and Mets right fielder Carson Benge had good cases for Rookie of the Year and aren’t penalized by their defense.

Wetherholt had 17 home runs and 14 stolen bases, and his .704 OPS was a smidge better than average at second base. But what separates Wetherholt from others is his defense at a key position. His 13 Defensive Runs Saved were tied for third-most at the position. He had a great out conversion rate on balls hit to his right and was one of the top second basemen at turning double plays.

Benge was the first Mets rookie with a 20-20 season. He hit 20 home runs and stole 22 bases. His .776 OPS was 11 points short of Stewart’s, but he was hitting in a less-friendly offensive environment than Stewart’s home stadium, Great American Ball Park. Benge’s OPS+ was 118 compared to 117 for Stewart.

Benge was also much better than Stewart defensively. He had 7 Runs Saved overall, 6 of those in right field. The top 10% of Benge’s throws averaged 96.6 MPH, the fifth-fastest in MLB in 2026.

Wetherholt and Benge don’t just have Stewart beat defensively. They have him beat in baserunning stats too.

Stewart took an extra base on hits 26% of the time. Wetherholt’s rate was 52% and Benge was right behind him at 47%.

Stewart stole 15 bases but was caught 8 times. Wetherholt was 14-of-15 on steals, Benge 22-of-27. Stewart wasn’t bad in all baserunning areas, but in sum, Baseball-Reference gave him -5 baserunning runs. Wetherholt was +3. Benge was +2.

There’s also the sabermetric perspective that it’s easier to replace a first baseman than it is a second baseman or a right fielder which further sharpens the case for Wetherholt and Benge. In fact, when considering the all-around play and the replaceability of these three players, Stewart rates a distant third.

It is admittedly hard to turn down the temptation to vote for a 30-homer, 100-RBI rookie as the voters showed yesterday. Stewart is the first one since Pete Alonso in 2019. Prior to 2016 there have been 10 rookies with 30-home runs and 100-RBI. Nine of them won Rookie of the Year and the one that didn’t (Al Rosen, 1950 Cleveland) lost out to another rookie who also had a 30-homer, 100-RBI season (Walt Dropo of the Red Sox). This year’s vote wasn’t all that close, with Benge second and Wetherholt third.

But though Stewart has great credentials in two important statistics, the point we’re making here is that there were some suitable alternatives who were well-deserving too.