Joey Votto was one of the greatest hitters of all time, let alone his own generation. He never once won a Silver Slugger Award. Jay Bruce, Votto’s longtime sidekick during the best run of form the Cincinnati Reds have had at any point during the last 35 years, won a pair of Silver Slugger Awards in his career.
Silver Sluggers are not exactly the most precise way to define hitting excellence. That said, they still carry weight among the players themselves, however, as they are voted on among managers
and coaches league-wide to determine which players were the ‘best’ hitters at their own positions during the most recent season.
The finalists at each position in both the National League and American League were announced on Friday, and both of Cincinnati’s best hitters from 2026 were among them. The managers and coaches named Elly De La Cruz a finalist at the shortstop position, while Sal Stewart was named a finalist among the ‘Utility’ category.
Despite the excellent seasons put up by both, they’re going to face some interesting (and very well qualified) competition to take home their individual awards.
At shortstop, Elly’s a finalist alongside Washington Nationals star CJ Abrams as well as Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins. Abrams topped Elly’s 30 homers with 33 of his own in his breakout campaign, adding in 34 steals for his own 30/30 season where he also drove in 106 runs and posted a 127 OPS+. Elly, for what it’s worth, poured in 30 homers and 30 steals on the dot while posting a superior 142 OPS+. Lopez, meanwhile, bested both with a .305 batting average and led all of Major League Baseball with 191 hits, his 122 OPS+ still very impressive in its own right.
So, that race will come down to just how much weight modern managers and coaches give to slugging and advanced metrics vs. the classic average and hits that have often led to winners since these awards were first given out in 1980.
In the utility position, Sal’s facing even stiffer competition. Jake Bauers just had a season so dominant that the Milwaukee Brewers issued him a Qualifying Offer just a year and a half removed from him going unclaimed on waivers. The career journeyman broke out with 26 homers, a dominant .389 OBP, and a 140 OPS+ for the World Champion Brewers, and he’ll be up for the honors alongside Sal and San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis, Jr. Despite starting the season in a comically odd homer drought, Tatis turned his season around in a huge way and finished with 25 homers, 38 steals, and a 130 OPS+ (and finds himself in the ‘utility’ category as he contributed a lot at 2B again after having been a primary RF for years). Sal, as y’all recall, socked 32 homers and drove in 112 while posting a 117 OPS+ en route to also being a finalist for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
No Red has won a Silver Slugger since Nick Castellanos took home honors following the 2021 season.
This year’s winners will be announced on November 17th.
