Stuart Fairchild

Stuart Alexander Fairchild

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 200 lb.
• School Wake Forest University
• High School Seattle Preparatory School
• Debut July 6, 2021

• Born March 17, 1996 in Seattle, WA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Stuart Fairchild was a second-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2017 amateur draft out of Wake Forest University. He had earlier been drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 38th round in 2014, coming out of high school, but had elected to attend college instead. He hit .360 with 19 doubles and 17 homers in 63 games as a junior for the Demon Deacons before he was drafted.

He made his pro debut in 2017 with the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League, where he hit .304/.393/.412 in 56 games. In 2018, he split his season between the similarly-named Dayton Dragons and Daytona Tortugas, hitting a combined .264/.344/.407 in 130 games. In 2019, he started the season in the Florida State League with Daytona, playing 67 games, before being promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League for another 42 games. He had another good season, hitting .264/.352/.441 with 29 doubles, 12 homers and 54 RBIs. He was added to the Reds' 60-player pool for the abbreviated 2020 season, with the minor leagues shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic, then on August 31st was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks along with major leaguer Josh VanMeter in return for P Archie Bradley.

He made his debut with Arizona as a pinch-runner on July 6, 2021, with the Diamondbacks in the midst of a wretched season and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th when David Peralta was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give his team a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. He hit .133 in 12 games that year.

In 2022, after brief appearances for the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants, he was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds and proceeded to hit a home run in his first start on July 13th. Despite 14 singles, four doubles and one triple, all six of Fairchild's RBIs in 2022 came from his five home runs with the Reds (four solo home runs and a two-run shot), setting a record for fewest RBIs in a season with at least five home runs. He hit .279 in 33 games for the Reds, and counting his 3 games for Seattle and 5 for San Francisco, his overall stats were a .245 average in 46 games, 5 homers and 6 RBIs.

He found a lasting home with the Reds, returning with them in both 2023 and 2024. In 2023, he played 97 games and hit .228 with 5 homers and 28 RBIs. He also scored 34 runs and stole 10 bases. He started games at all three outfield spots and was also used over ten times each as a pinch-hitter and a pinch-runner. On May 10, 2024, he became the first Reds player since Champ Summers in 1977 to hit an inside-the-park homer as a pinch-hitter. He hit his homer in the 8th inning of a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Further Reading

• Sonja Chen: "Fairchild hits Reds’ first pinch-hit inside-the-park HR since 1977", mlb.com, May 11, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Stuart Fairchild on mlb.com
• BR Minors page