The 2026 Cincinnati Reds are motivated to contend for an NL Central title and advance further in the playoffs than they did last season, which ended with a quick two-game series in Los Angeles. This year’s team feels like much less of a young group than they used to.
While the group will be counting on emerging players like Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, and Sal Stewart, the core of the team that debuted in 2022 and 2023 is now a group of established young veterans. The Reds are looking for the next step from Elly De La Cruz, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott and for players like Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, and Tyler Stephenson to have bounce-back years. The Reds’ internal goals for the 2026 season are realistic, but this is going to be a big year for a lot of players.
With Opening Day coming up on Thursday, here are my predictions for 2026 team awards.
All-Stars: Elly De La Cruz and Nick Lodolo
One of the biggest questions this season is whether De La Cruz has another season where he’s around 20th on NL MVP ballots like he did in 2025, a season where he finishes in the top 10 like he did in 2024, or a season where he makes that huge leap and is a finalist for the award. He’s trying to maximize his upside this season by returning to the swing mechanics that helped him hit for more power earlier in his big league career. He’s stronger than last season, and his health should allow him to steal more bases. The Reds believe that mixing in off days here and there will keep him fresh and keep his hitting more consistent.
There’s no question that Elly is the best Reds player. It’s just about where he stacks up in MLB this season.
Lodolo has quietly been pitching at an All-Star level whenever he’s been healthy, going back to the start of the 2024 season. His biggest injury news in Spring Training is a lingering blister issue, but that appears to be in good shape now. He has proven that when he can spin his curveball it’s an elite pitch that impacts any caliber of lineup.
Most Important Hitter: Sal Stewart
The Reds made Eugenio Suárez their highest-paid player to provide some much-needed power, but strikeouts are a part of his game. He’ll need some protection in the lineup, a threat behind him who forces pitchers to throw more strikes. That can be Stewart.
While he isn’t as proven yet as De La Cruz or Suárez, Stewart has the tools to be the team’s most balanced hitter as a middle-of-the-order bat hitting for contact as well as power. He has a chance to provide reliability in the middle of the order that has upside with De La Cruz and Suárez but may also struggle with strikeouts.
The question with Stewart will be how pitchers adjust to him in his second year in the big leagues. “I lace my shoes up just like them,” he says. “They have info on me, but I have info on them. I can flip that around.”
Most Important Pitcher: Andrew Abbott
The elbow injury that will keep Hunter Greene out until July reinforces the importance of having a rock like Abbott who can step up and lead the rotation. Abbott has been one of the most reliable pitchers in MLB since he debuted in 2023, and he’s still just 26 years old and getting better.
His ability to give the Reds a good chance to win every fifth day is extremely valuable, and he’s dealt with just one injury in his entire big league career to date.
Comeback Player of the Year: Spencer Steer
The Reds still view Steer as the player he was in 2023 as one of the best rookie hitters in MLB. A shoulder injury frustrated him in 2024, and a quad injury prevented him from hitting his stride last season. Even with that, there were long stretches in each season where Steer was able to carry the Reds’ lineup. One of those stretches was last September, when he put the team on his back in a few must-win games.
His numbers from the last few years haven’t been flashy due to the injuries he’s battled through, but Steer has never spent a day on the injuried list. He can do it all, and he’s physically stronger than ever entering this season.
Most Improved: Matt McLain
It’s one thing for the Reds to say that they believe in McLain, and it’s another to trade a player from the roster who could have been an everyday second baseman (Gavin Lux), cut McLain’s backup from last season (Santiago Espinal), and not add a single second base option to the roster. The Reds have put their money where their mouth is with McLain. In Spring Training, he showed significant improvement at his biggest weakness from 2025, which was a hole in his swing that kept him from hitting the low-and-away slider.
Rookie of the Year: Sal Stewart
It’s hard to pick between Stewart, the team’s most important hitter, and starting pitcher Rhett Lowder, who combines some of Lodolo’s upside with Abbott’s reliability. Add in second-year pitcher Chase Burns, and this is a Reds team that’s really going to need significant production from its youngest players.
Prospect of the Year: Tyson Lewis
The 20-year-old infielder has all of the tools you could look for in a young prospect. He can race around the bases. He’s a standout athlete. He’s a power threat who has set records for how hard he hits the ball.
Lewis is working to put all of the pieces together. If that happens in 2026 in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues, he has a chance to be viewed as a top-50 prospect in all of baseball by this time next season.
Charlie Goldsmith has covered the Reds and Bengals since 2020, and his newsletter on the teams can be found at charlieschalkboard.substack.com.
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