BBWAA crowns McGonigle, Stewart as 2026 Rookie of the Year winners

The BBWAA’s Rookie of the Year announcement landed with little suspense, and the numbers explain why. Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle and Reds infielder Sal Stewart each separated themselves with full-season value, not just one hot month, and both collected the bulk of first-place votes in Monday night’s balloting.

McGonigle took the American League award with 28 of 30 first-place votes, finishing ahead of Guardians left-hander Parker Messick. His season was built on volume as much as production: he led the AL with 707 plate appearances, then paired that workload with an .806 OPS, 18 home runs, 72 RBIs and 12 steals.

The complete profile mattered. McGonigle added +10 defensive runs saved overall, with plus marks at both shortstop and third base, and he finished as the league’s top player by Baseball Reference WAR at 7.1. That made him the first rookie to lead his league in bWAR since Mike Trout in 2012, a reminder that his value stretched beyond the customary rookie box score.

Detroit also got something more specific from McGonigle: stability. The Tigers needed it when Javier Báez missed three months with a right ankle sprain, and McGonigle settled quickly into an everyday role. He became the first Detroit position player to win Rookie of the Year since Lou Whitaker in 1978, giving the franchise a rare award winner at a premium infield spot.

Stewart’s National League win carried its own clean logic. He received 20 of 30 first-place votes, with Mets outfielder Carson Benge earning seven and Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt getting three. His case rested on availability and power, two traits that rarely line up cleanly for a rookie over a full season.

The Reds infielder played all 162 games and started 161 of them while moving around the diamond. He made 117 starts at first base, 45 at third and eight at second, and he also appeared at designated hitter. Stewart finished with a .263 average, a .787 OPS, 32 home runs and 112 RBIs, the kind of line that made the award look less like a breakout than an accumulation of proof.

His home-run total was historically loud. Stewart became the first National League rookie with at least 30 homers since Pete Alonso in 2019, and his RBI total set a Reds rookie record while making him the first Cincinnati rookie to produce a 30-homer, 100-RBI season. He was also the 14th Major League rookie to reach that threshold.

The deeper numbers backed up the traditional ones. Stewart led all NL rookies in homers, RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases, and his 164 hits ranked among the best rookie totals in Reds history. The production came in a season when Cincinnati finished last in the NL Central with 75 wins, so the award did not rewrite the team result. It did, however, give the club a clear offensive centerpiece from a full big league season.

Taken together, the two awards point to the same kind of rookie year: everyday players who forced the issue. McGonigle supplied impact on both sides of the ball and at two positions. Stewart supplied durability and middle-of-the-order production in a lineup that kept asking for more. The BBWAA ballots reflected that balance, with both players winning comfortably rather than sneaking through on a split field.

The awards also close the loop on a season that had already put both players on the sport’s radar. McGonigle had been building toward a national recognition sweep, and Stewart’s 162-game workload gave him a durable case even before the votes were counted. Now the official honor belongs to both, and the next confirmed item on the calendar is the continued offseason evaluation of two rookies whose first seasons already set franchise marks.