Former Westminster Christian star Stewart makes big first impression with Reds

Sal Stewart was supposed to be a basketball player.

Instead, the Miami Westminster Christian graduate made his Major League Baseball debut on Sept. 1, and he’s getting regular starts for the Cincinnati Reds as that franchise tries to secure a National League wild-card playoff berth.

He has slugged four homers in 11 games through Monday. His first two were bombs: a 412-footer against Mets stud rookie Jonah Tong followed by a 419-footer three days later against Padres veteran Michael King.

As Stewart rounded the bases on the second blast, he made some good-natured hand gestures toward Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who has been one of his biggest mentors.

Stewart, a 21-year-old corner infielder, is the son of Sal Stewart Sr., the former basketball coach at Miami’s Archbishop Carroll High School.

When Stewart Jr. was 3 years old, his father took Stewart Jr.’s sister, Lindsey, to her youth-league basketball game. A fellow coach offered to take Stewart Jr. to the baseball field in the meantime.

Shortly after that, Stewart Sr.’s phone starting buzzing.

The urgent calls were about Stewart Jr., who was a natural with a bat in his hands, lining pitches all over the park at such a young age.

“From then on,” Stewart Sr. said, “we had him play basketball and baseball.”

Stewart, now listed at 6-1 and 225 pounds, was a good basketball player in those days. He could shoot, and Westminster coach P.J. Brown said Coral Gables once played a box-and-one defense to try to stop him from scoring.

“A lot of times he was our best basketball player in terms of mental toughness and competitiveness,” Brown said of Stewart, who was a three-year hoops starter even while skipping the sport his senior year to focus on baseball. “He was fierce.”

Stewart, by the way, is fluent in Spanish. His father was born in Cuba. Stewart Sr.’s great-grandfather was born in Scotland, but he moved to Cuba, and that explains the surname.

What explains Stewart’s power is a trickier question, but Westminster baseball coach Emil Castellanos believes it’s God-given.

“You could tell he was different when he showed up here as a ninth-grader,” Castellanos said. “Making it to the major leagues is like winning the Florida Lottery, but that was his dream ever since his freshman year.”

Indeed, the storied Westminster Christian baseball program has won 11 state championships and two national No. 1 rankings. The Warriors have also sent 53 players to pro baseball.

But even with all that success, Stewart is just the eighth ex-Westminster player to reach the majors, a list that includes retired superstar Alex Rodriguez.

Currently, there are three ex-Westminster players who have played in the majors this season: Stewart, Angels pitcher Victor Mederos and Royals outfielder MJ Melendez.

After missing his sophomore season due to the 2020 COVID shutdown, Stewart slugged 18 homers as a junior, falling just one short of Westminster’s single-season record, held by David Thompson.

As a senior, Stewart was pitched around often, but he still hit .514 with nine homers, earning USA Today All-America honors.

During his prep career, Stewart was around several former and current big-leaguers, including David “Big Papi” Ortiz; former University of Miami standout Yonder Alonso; former FIU star Mike Lowell; ex-Miami Dade College star Raul Ibanez; and Joel Pineiro, who is Westminster’s pitching coach and has a 12-year-career in the majors.

It was Alonso who introduced Stewart to Machado, who has become perhaps Sal’s biggest booster.

In fact, when Stewart made the major leagues, Machado gifted him a Rolex watch.

After high school, Stewart, who had committed to Vanderbilt University before he even started the ninth grade, turned down the Commodores to sign with the Reds, who selected him toward the end of the first round, No. 32 overall. Stewart, who was a compensation pick given to the Reds for losing free agent Nick Castellanos to the Phillies, signed for $2.1 million.

Stewart earned his way to the majors, producing an .851 OPS in eight games in 2022; an .811 OPS in 117 games in 2023; an .844 OPS in 80 games last year in an abbreviated season due to a wrist injury; and a .907 OPS with a career-high 20 homers this year in Double-A/Triple-A.

Speaking of the minors, his parents and sister were visiting him at Triple A Louisville for the recent Labor Day weekend when Stewart was told he was getting promoted to the majors.

“We had just had breakfast,” Stewart said. “(Sal Jr.) called me and asked me to bring him some food to the stadium.

“I said, ‘What do you mean? We just ate.’”

Stewart had wanted to tell his family in person, but his plan didn’t work.

“He told us and started crying,” Stewart said. “He couldn’t hold back his emotions.”

The Stewart family immediately packed up and made the 90-minute drive to Cincinnati. Stewart’s mom, Rosy, and Lindsey, drove the family’s rental car. Stewart drove his truck with his father by his side.

“We had a great conversation the whole time,” Stewart Sr. said. “We reminisced about the journey.”

The next day, Stewart got the start at first base, batting seventh. In the second inning, Stewart singled on his first at-bat and came around to score. The hit came on a 3-1 pitch -- a 72-mph sweeper from crafty veteran Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays.

“That was an emotional moment,” said Stewart Sr., who noted that there were close to 30 friends/family members in Cincinnati rooting for his son that night, including the player’s girlfriend, Nat Espinosa, a fellow graduate of Westminster.

After the game, Stewart gave his father his worn jersey, No. 43, and the two men posed for a photo on the field at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark.

Stewart, who can also play second base, will likely remain in the majors as long as he hits. He makes consistent hard contact and has a good eye for the strike zone, drawing 184 walks in 322 minor-league games.

What happens from here is anyone’s guess, but Stewart has at least put a checkmark on his initial dream, and his arrival to The Show is of no surprise to those who know him.

“I’m super proud of him,” said Brown, his former basketball coach. “I knew it was only a matter of time for him to make it to the majors.”