Reds' Sal Stewart has been the 'bopper' the team needed this year

Reds' Sal Stewart has been the 'bopper' the team needed this year originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cincinnati Reds are off to a fine start this season. They currently sit atop the competitive NL Central with their 20-11 record. 

This is a bit of a surprise start, given they lost their ace, Hunter Greene, at the beginning of the season after he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. 

Others, like Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder, have stepped up to fill the gap until he returns later this summer. And offensively, the club is doing well, largely thanks to what Sal Stewart has done to start the season. 

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Reds' Sal Stewart has been the 'bopper' the team needed this year

Stewart was the 32nd overall selection in the 2022 MLB Draft. It did not take long for him to battle through the minors, getting his first taste of MLB action late last season. 

This year, he made the Opening Day roster and has been a force with the bat in his hand. He currently leads the club in runs batted in and on-base percentage, and with this, he's listed as the No. 3 rookie, according to Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly in his latest power rankings. 

"Stewart homered five times in his first 18 MLB games last year, and he's picked up where he left off in his first full campaign in the show. He's currently leading MLB in RBI, having also homered nine times and posted a .987 OPS. Terry Francona's lineup badly needed a bopper, and Stewart has given them that."

Stewart is a great addition to a lineup with Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suarez, once he returns from the IL. And once Greene returns as well, this could be a team that takes full charge later this summer. 

Don't sleep on the Reds. They have all the pieces and a great manager to crack the postseason once again and potentially go on a deeper run.

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