Westminster Christian’s Sal Stewart brings massive power to Reds on Day 1 of MLB draft
For a decade, Sal Stewart has been considered one of the most promising young baseball players in Miami.
Now, he’s a first-day pick in the 2022 MLB draft.
The Cincinnati Reds chose the Westminster Christian third baseman with the No. 32 overall selection — the second pick of the compensatory round at the end of Round 1 — of the MLB draft Sunday, giving South Florida a trio of players picked on the opening day of the draft in Los Angeles.
Coral Park’s Zach Neto, who played the last three years for the Campbell Fighting Camels, went 13th to Los Angeles Angels and Plantation American Heritage’s Brandon Barriera went 23rd to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Stewart was the one of the Miami Herald’s Co-Baseball Players of the Year for Classes 5A-2A this year after batting .514 with nine home runs, 13 doubles, 23 RBIs and 46 runs scored as a senior. He also drew 30 walks and struck out just nine times. In his 91-game career with the Warriors, Stewart posted 31 doubles, three triples, 30 homers and 95 RBIs, with a .621 on-base percentage and a 1.621 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
Stewart was a three-time first-team all-county selection, only missing out in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic cut cut the season short.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound righty is one of the most prodigious power hitters in the draft, even getting a chance to take cuts in the Home Run Derby last year after advancing in the High School All-American Game Home Run Derby.
“He’s one of the best high school hitters in the country,” Westminster Christian coach Emil Castellanos said last month. “He hits balls 470-480 feet and he’s just 18 years old.”
Stewart has signed with the Vanderbilt Commodores, but he’ll have a decision to make now. The signing bonus for his draft slot is approximately $2.37 million and he went hire than most mock drafts anticipated—MLB.com, for example, tabbed him as the No. 73 prospect in the draft.
This story was originally published July 17, 2022 at 10:37 PM.
