Overview
- He became baseball’s RBI leader after Friday night’s game, reaching 84 RBIs over 109 games and pushing past CJ Abrams for the top spot.
- Stewart’s season includes roughly 23 home runs, a high total of extra-base hits, and a pace that projects to about 33 homers and 120 RBIs over 162 games if he keeps playing every day.
- The Reds briefly moved him to designated hitter to give him a defensive rest while Nate Lowe started at first base, a step the club said was aimed at preserving his bat.
- Stewart’s offensive dominance has shifted betting lines and media attention toward his Rookie of the Year case even as rival J.J. Wetherholt holds a sizable WAR advantage because of defense and base running.
- If Stewart sustains this production he would join a very small group of rookies who topped the majors in RBIs, a feat not done in decades and one that underlines how rare his run has been for a first-year player.