Drafted 32nd overall as a third baseman in the 2022 Draft, Stewart played first base professionally for the first time with Triple-A Louisville and soon after debuted there for the Reds. His rawness at the position was evident, including a costly throwing error that contributed to a four-run sixth inning from the Dodgers in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series in L.A. He will work in the offseason at first base and might also get some reps in winter ball.
The Reds have seen prospects have one good month and struggle to follow it up the next season. Noelvi Marte and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are two examples.
Stewart is not a finished product and will need to show improvement to make the team.
“The first goal for every prospect is to get to the big leagues. You hear it all the time -- staying here is a lot harder than getting here. I think there’s a lot of truth to that," general manager Brad Meador said. "But getting better once you do get here is a big part of that and making adjustments. It’s a different game here."
SS Edwin Arroyo (No. 8 prospect)
Arroyo had an entire season of development wiped out in 2024 because of a left shoulder injury that required surgery. But the 22-year-old rebounded well in 2025 and turned in a respectable year.
In 120 games at Double-A Chattanooga, the switch-hitting Arroyo batted .284/.345/.371 with three home runs, 44 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
“I think the one thing to look at with Arroyo is that over the course of each month, his exit velocity went up a little bit," Krall said. "There’s more consistency. We talk about this all the time. The year and a half to two years with shoulders and wrists [after major surgeries], they’re really hard. For hitters, it just takes them a while to get back to where they were. And it looked like, slowly but surely, he was getting back to where he was over the course of the year.”
