Last week, we asked you where the Reds should play Sal Stewart if and when they finally got around to calling up their prized offensive prospect. Well, the Reds did call up Sal just yesterday when rosters finally expanded on September 1st, and they gave him a start at 1B – only for him to single and score his first trip to the plate.
It was Spencer Steer who gave way for the afternoon – he eventually came on as a defensive replacement for Sal and got a PA of his own – but it was interesting to see
Terry Francona trust Sal’s defense at 1B immediately despite him barely having played there in the minors.
3B, of course, is where he’s logged the most time, but he’s got plenty of 2B experience in the minors as well, even if his defense there isn’t exactly regarded as exceptional by scouts. Still, with Matt McLain struggling mightily at the plate all year, you told us in pretty overwhelming fashion that 2B is where you think Sal should play on the Reds.
That each of these spots got responses should come as no surprise, and that’s probably exactly what the Reds actually have in mind for him. Start at 1B and give Steer a day, start at 3B and give Ke’Bryan Hayes a day, start at 2B and give McLain a day, and definitely get starts at DH to keep his elite hitting skills in the lineup.
Is that too much to ask of a rookie in his first cup of coffee for a team still desperately fighting to make the playoffs? Perhaps. Still, it’s what the Reds have asked of so many of their young players already in their careers, with Noelvi Marte now in RF, Elly De La Cruz & McLain having swapped spots at 3B/SS and SS/2B, and Steer having played just about every position out there already in his career.
Long term, though, we may see that positional specificity increase, since we’re all pretty dang confident Sal’s bat is going to be for real wherever he’s parked with a glove.
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