This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. This edition was written by MLB.com's Manny Randhawa.
The Reds got off to a hot start this season, opening the 2026 campaign with wins in 20 of their first 31 games. While they’ve hit a rough patch since, losing eight straight before rebounding with a series win over the Astros last weekend, they remain a club with exciting young players who could be in the conversation for major awards this year.
Here’s an early-season check-in on those players and a look at their chances to become the first Reds player in several years to take home an award in their respective category.
MVP: Elly De La Cruz (Last Reds MVP: Joey Votto, 2010)
De La Cruz has been a Statcast darling for his five-tool talent ever since he made his Major League debut in 2023. And while the 6-foot-6, 200-pound shortstop has certainly demonstrated his potential to be an all-time great -- particularly when he hit 25 home runs and stole 67 bases in 2024 -- it still feels like his best is yet to come.
One of the major limiting factors for De La Cruz has been his penchant for striking out. Over his first two big league seasons, he struck out 32.2% of the time, yet he still managed to produce 8.5 wins above replacement (Fangraphs) in 258 games over that span. That goes to show just what type of production we could see if the strikeouts decline and his contact rate goes up.
De La Cruz has been working on it, and the results are showing. Since the beginning of the 2025 campaign, his strikeout rate is 26.3%. And so far in 2026, he’s posted an .875 OPS with 10 homers and nine steals. He also entered the week tied with the Dodgers’ Andy Pages for second among position players in the National League with 2.1 fWAR. Only Atlanta slugger Matt Olson was ahead of him, at 2.4.
The big question when it comes to NL MVP balloting this year is the same as it’s been the past two seasons: Will anyone be able to dethrone two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani?
It’s a tall order. The four-time MVP remains the man to beat, and until someone does it, it’s hard to see anyone other than Ohtani taking home MVP honors. But there is an opening with Ohtani getting off to a relatively slow start at the plate this season. And in MLB.com’s first MVP poll of 2026, De La Cruz finished runner-up to Ohtani.
It would take a monster season from De La Cruz to pull it off. Never say never, though -- he undoubtedly has the talent to wow us, and he’s now in his fourth Major League season despite being just 24 years old.
Cy Young: Chase Burns (Only Reds pitcher to win Cy Young: Trevor Bauer, 2020)
Entering the season, if you were to ask someone whether the Reds had a potential Cy Young Award candidate on the roster, the answer would probably be yes: Hunter Greene.
But with Greene sidelined and not expected back until midsummer as he recovers from right elbow surgery, there’s another hard-throwing Cincinnati right-hander making an early bid for serious consideration.
Burns has provided a big lift for the Reds’ pitching staff as it deals with injuries to Greene and others. The 23-year-old is tied with Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez for third in the NL with a 2.11 ERA. In his most recent outing, he turned in a strong six-inning performance against the Astros last Saturday to help the Reds snap their eight-game skid.
Primarily featuring a fastball-slider mix, Burns can dial up his four-seamer to triple digits and his slider has been his most effective pitch, generating a 44% whiff rate and an MLB-best run value of +8.
If Burns is a serious contender in the NL Cy Young race come August and September, it would be an eyebrow-raiser. But with the stuff he has and what he’s shown in his brief career to this point, don’t put it past him. He’s certainly put himself in a good position early.
Rookie of the Year: Sal Stewart (Last Reds Rookie of the Year: Jonathan India, 2021)
Stewart, like Burns, is off to a fast start in his second Major League campaign -- so fast, in fact, thfat he’s a leading early-season NL Rookie of the Year candidate.
While Pirates phenom Konnor Griffin has plenty of time to make a serious run at it, right now it seems to be a race between Stewart, Mets right-hander Nolan McLean and Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt.
Stewart, whom the Reds took with the 32nd overall selection in the 2022 Draft, owns an .812 OPS with 10 homers, most among NL rookies. He’s also stolen eight bases in eight attempts. With a tremendous performance in March and April, he was named the NL Rookie of the Month after slugging .570 with 15 extra-base hits.
And even after receiving that honor, Stewart wasn’t satisfied. He’s continuing to make adjustments as he strives to get even better and counteract the inevitable adjustments pitchers make against him.
Of the three Reds candidates for major awards listed here, Stewart might have the best shot.