Ke'Bryan Hayes, acquired by the Reds via trade July 30, is under team control through at least 2029.
LOUISVILLE − Asked about Cincinnati Reds blue-chip prospect Sal Stewart, Louisville Bats manager Pat Kelly indicated the player's time was coming, and soon.
"He and (Hector) Rodriguez are the next two guys to go to fit in with that core we already have up there," Kelly said, "so I think they're important pieces."
At the time of Kelly's remarks on July 24, Stewart had been in his Louisville Bats clubhouse for about a week and five total games. That wasn't their first encounter, though. Stewart holding his own during Reds spring training this year got Kelly's attention.
"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."
Stewart, now the highest-rated Reds prospect not currently in the majors, started his 2025 season with the Reds' Double-A affiliate in Chattanooga. By the time he reached the MLB All-Star Week's Futures Game, he had earned the promotion to play under Kelly in Louisville.
There, success didn't come instantly but it did come eventually. By July 30, Stewart's batting average had climbed to .300 through 10 games. He had four home runs and a .950 OPS.
"It's going pretty good. I'm kinda pleased with how I'm playing so far but when I got (to Louisville), I got off to a little bit of a slower start than I would have liked in Triple-A," Stewart said of his first five games in Triple-A. "I'm just hard on myself sometimes. My standard is very high and I feel like I haven't lived up to that, so I need to do a better job of playing well."
Up at the MLB level, with the Reds organization in a playoff race, Cincinnati on July 30 moved to acquire third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes from the Pittsburgh Pirates via trade.
Hayes, a Gold Glove third baseman, might be the best defensive player in the game, multiple Reds officials said after the trade went through. Hayes isn't a rental player either. He's under team control through at least 2029. The move should give Cincinnati a much-needed boost defensively.
But what of Stewart? The trade seemed counterintuitive as far as the future of the 21-year-old Stewart was concerned.
Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall offered reassurances on what the trade meant for Stewart, saying "He needs to just keep playing."
"(Stewart) needs to keep going and grind with what he's got going," Krall said. "He got to Triple-A a couple weeks ago. He's played well at Triple-A. We really like him. We think he's going to be a big part of the club at some point. He just needs to keep developing."
Stewart wouldn't disagree with the notion of a need for continued development.
"Honestly, I feel my game's pretty well-rounded right now but that doesn't mean I don't need to improve in every aspect," Stewart said. "I feel like I can improve in every part of my game."
Stewart also noted the early challenges he faced in the jump from Chattanooga to Louisville.
"The guys know how to throw here," Stewart said. "The guys in Double-A, the stuff was really, really good. Here, the stuff is good and they just know what to do. So, just knowing that and knowing how they pitch me, picking up on their tendencies.
"It's gonna be a good thing just to continue getting at-bats and seeing how the throw me, how the pitch me. It's just another step to get to the big leagues. It's been a great step."
Stewart's taken many steps since he was drafted out of high school (Westminster Christian in Miami) by the Reds in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft at No. 32 overall. He was the end-product of Nick Castellanos' time in Cincinnati as he was a compensatory pick resulting from Castellanos' departure.
After spending the rest of 2022 in the Arizona Complex League, Stewart spent 2023 playing A-ball, both with the Daytona Tortugas and the Dayton Dragons. Stewart's 2024 featured 80 games at High-A Dayton before he suffered an accident that injured his wrist and required surgery.
In 2025, Stewart's ascended rapidly. First came spring training, where he was a frequent topic of conversation when Reds manager Terry Francona met with reporters in his office each morning.
"Yeah, for a young kid to handle himself in major league camp, I thought he was very professional about his approach," Kelly said. "That's the intangibles you're looking for."
Then came Chattanooga, or "Chatt" as Stewart called it. He hit .306 there, and immersed himself in the club's culture. He became well-versed in the organization's planned move to its new stadium in 2026, and he lauded the coaches and staff there for an enjoyable stay.
After getting the call to join baseball's top prospects in the Futures Game in Atlanta around the MLB All-Star Game, Stewart received word he'd been promoted to Triple-A while in Atlanta.
Today, his power numbers are up and he's getting his feet under him in Louisville. There's only one step to take after that.
Prior to the Reds acquiring Hayes, Stewart said he recognized an opportunity at third base on the Reds' big league roster.
The landscape at third base has changed, and maybe Stewart's future is elsewhere on the field. In any case, his attitude prior to the Hayes acquisition, if he maintains it, will see him to success.
"The opportunity is for sure there but I don't look into that," Stewart said. "Right now, I've got to go out there and do my job. If I don't do my job, no matter what the opportunity is, I wouldn't be able to seize it. I just focus on trying to play to the best of my abilities every day. Listening to 'Tito' and what he wants and asks of me. Listing to 'PK,' what he wants and asks of me. All of that will handle itself. Jesus' timing is perfect and precise and I know that.
"If it comes, whenever it comes, I'll be ready."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The Reds added a longterm third baseman. What's that mean for prospect Sal Stewart?
Category: Baseball
