By Ben Norton, Guest Writer 

Sal Stewart has taken the MLB by storm, having one of the best offensive seasons ever from a Reds rookie and being the clear favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year award. 

The 22-year-old first baseman hailing from Miami has already reached numerous milestones in his first full season in the league. He became the first player this season to reach 100 RBI’s and remains in the top spot with 107. He has the chance to become the third rookie ever to finish at the top of the RBI leaderboard, joining the elite company of Ted Williams (1939) and Walt Dropo (1950). 

During the month of August, Stewart batted an impressive .304 average with 35 hits, racking up eight homers and 21 runs scored to complement his .879 OPS. On the other hand, his main competition for the award, St. Louis Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt, batted a .200 average with just a .595 OPS. 

With Wetherholt also missing time due to wrist tendinitis, it is becoming clear that Stewart is running away with the title. While Wetherholt’s defense at shortstop has kept him in the talks for the award, Sal’s scorching hot August on top of Wetherholt’s injury has thrust Stewart into the spotlight for the voters of the award. 

Stewart has already hit 31 homers to date, and with another flaming hot month at the plate, could be looking at a 40-homerun season. This feat has only been accomplished three times in history: Pete Alonso (53), Aaron Judge (52), and Mark McGwire (49).  

Certainly, being on lists with such high caliber, Hall of Fame names such as these will help Stewart’s case to secure the award. Fans are questioning what is in his way of clenching this award.  

The main block in the road for Stewart is the argument that Wetherholt’s WAR is more important than the offensive statistics of Stewart.  

The statistic “WAR” means Wins Above Replacement. It measures how good a player is compared to the average player you would find on the bench. For hitters, the stat factors in batting, baserunning, fielding, and difficulty of position. 

Weatherholt has more than double the WAR of Stewart, a 4.7 to 2.3 comparison.

The problem with comparing Stewart to Weatherholt with this statistic comes down to the positions they play. In baseball, Weatherholt’s position, shortstop is considered much more difficult than first base. This means that every play Weatherholt makes in the field is considered more important to his WAR. 

This comparison, however, has made for interesting discussion as to which stats are more important for the Rookie of the Year race. 

 “Sal Stewart leads the league in RBIs with 107 as a 22-year-old rookie, where Weatherholt has 48 and is 23 years old.” Xavier Club Baseball president and senior finance major Brendan Larkin said.

With less than a month left in the regular season, it will be a race to the finish line for the two rookies. Stewart’s offensive prowess should be enough to take home the award. The impressive WAR of Wetherholt could convince the voters that his season meant more.

As of now, it is certainly leaning towards the former, but the fans will have to wait until November to get the answer to this season-long debate.