CINCINNATI — When an MLB organization drafts a player No. 1 overall, visions of said player developing into a cornerstone immediately spawn as the franchise dreams of better days than those spent racking up the losses en route to that top pick. Six years after hearing his name called first in the 2017 draft, Royce Lewis is finally fulfilling this hope for a Twins team on the verge of winning the American League Central.
The imagined destination — Lewis starring for an October-bound first-place club — might have been the expectation all along. But the journey has been anything but ordinary for the 24-year-old rookie.
Over his first few years in pro ball, Lewis was tracking like a lot of high-profile first-round picks out of high school. He took time adjusting to and succeeding at each level of the minors, ultimately reaching Double-A shortly after his 20th birthday. He finished 2019 on a high note, as MVP of the prospect-packed Arizona Fall League, and carried significant momentum into the winter as one of the top prospects in baseball. Then, with the cancelation of the 2020 minor-league season because of the pandemic, Lewis’ progression toward the majors was put on pause.
Ready and eager to resume his development in 2021 spring training, Lewis’ trajectory took another sharp turn when he suffered a torn ACL in late February, putting him on the shelf for the entirety of what could have been his debut season. Back in action to start 2022, it took just 24 minor-league games before he received that highly anticipated call-up, though the excitement of his arrival was cut short when the unthinkable happened: another ACL tear in the same right knee.
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Two years, two season-ending surgeries — just as his big-league career was supposed to be getting off the ground.
For as exciting as his on-field talent has always been, it’s the unrelenting positive attitude toward working his way back from the same devastating injury twice that has those in and around the Twins organization especially impressed with Lewis. That he was able to overcome the misfortune and timing of his injuries was an achievement on its own, and one that continues to loom large as he establishes himself as a fixture in the everyday lineup.
“Just to be able to grow and have fun with my teammates, it’s been awesome,” Lewis told FOX Sports. “That’s all I’ve been looking forward to my whole life, really. And now I’m in a good spot to continue that.”
Even with the injury-related delays, Lewis’ arrival and immediate impact could not have come at a better time for a ballclub burying the baggage of two straight disappointing seasons. Four years removed from a division title fueled by an MLB-record 307 long balls, the 2023 Twins’ success has been rooted in stellar starting pitching. They still hit their fair share of homers — their 217 long balls are tied for fourth in the majors — but the run production hasn’t come quite the way many envisioned back in March.
Injuries and underperformance from the presumptive faces of the franchise on offense — Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton — have necessitated increased production from several rookies up and down the lineup. Lewis has been at the forefront of those efforts, especially in the second half.
Royce Lewis hits solo home run to put Twins on the board against Reds
An oblique injury put Lewis back on the shelf in early July, just five weeks after his triumphant return from his second ACL tear at the end of May. But in the five weeks following his return to the lineup last month, he hasn’t just been the Twins’ best hitter — he’s been among the best in baseball.
Since August 15, Lewis’ 11 homers, 172 wRC+ and 1.6 fWAR rank in the top 10 of all qualified hitters, while his 37 RBIs lead the majors. Of course, a whopping 16 of those 37 runs driven in came on just four swings. This past Friday, Lewis slugged his fourth grand slam of the season, and within an all-time record 18-game span.
Though just one of Lewis’ 41 homers in the minors was a grand slam — fittingly on his 19th birthday — he had already hinted at such a knack for dinger dramatics when he launched a grand slam last year for his first career homer, just a few weeks before his second ACL tear.
Four grand slams in three weeks, though? The same number as Joey Votto‘s entire career, or twice as many as Derek Jeter and Pete Rose over a combined 6,300-plus games and 7,700-plus hits? That’s simply absurd.
Grand slams are as much of a right-place, right-time scenario as any in baseball — some of the game’s greatest hitters like Freddie Freeman and Juan Soto famously went grand slam-less for a shockingly long time to start their careers. Still, Lewis has demonstrated an uncanny ability to capitalize on such situations. He gets excited for bases-loaded opportunities, though he insists he’s just trying to get the job done the best he can and help the team win.
At the same time, he also knows there are worse things to be known for than being The Kid Who Only Hits Grand Slams. It’s a pretty good brand.
Defensively, Lewis is settling in at third base after some occasional reps in both left and center field over the past few seasons. He played shortstop exclusively for the first three years of his pro career and even spent his first month of the big leagues there while Correa was on the injured list. Though Lewis’ elite athleticism enables him to play anywhere on the field, consistently posting at third base has helped him adjust to the intricacies of the position.
“It’s the same game, it’s just very fast,” Lewis said. “You gotta get used to the speed of the game, the tempo. It’s similar to short. The thing even more to adjust to is the pace of the game, like everyone runs fast. Especially when you’re playing deep at third. It’s a farther throw, so you really gotta get rid of it quick.”
That internal clock proved crucial versus the Reds on Monday, when fellow rookie Elly De La Cruz chopped one to third before Lewis uncorked a strong throw to narrowly nab the fastest man in baseball to end the inning.
At the plate, Lewis has embraced the preparation required to succeed at the highest level and leaned heavily on Minnesota’s coaching staff.
“I never had a true plan in the minors,” Lewis admitted. “It was just, ‘what does he throw?'”
This approach was largely a response to the inherent nature of the minor leagues. In Lewis’ eyes, scouting reports on the arms he was facing on a regular basis in the minors were tougher to rely on when the focus for players is always on development rather than leaning on strengths to maximize the chance of winning on a daily basis. For example, a pitcher who throws an effective fastball at the top of the zone with a lot of carry might be working on developing something else that day, thus rendering the report on how good his fastball is relatively useless in any given outing.
In the big leagues, however, he’s learned to trust the information organized and communicated by hitting coaches David Popkins and Derek Shomon, as well as run production coordinator Danny-David Linahan.
“We’ve got a really special group and they take care of us, they give us all the right information,” Lewis said. “Having a plan and having a good routine in the cage to be ready for success at the plate. I always tell them whenever we have a good plan, we usually tend to succeed as a team. Preparation has been the big thing.”
At this level, Lewis doesn’t have to worry about the unpredictability of opposing arms in the same sense. The best pitchers in the world will attack him with their best stuff, and it’s his responsibility to craft a game plan to compete.
“You trust [the scouting report],” Lewis said. “The pitchers do what they do and don’t necessarily deviate like in the minors. They trust their plan, so it’s like, how do we beat their weakness? And then how do they attack our weakness, right? It’s cat-and-mouse. It’s always fun.”
With Correa leaving Monday’s game in Cincinnati after re-aggravating the plantar fasciitis injury that he’s been managing all year, Lewis’ importance in the middle of the Minnesota lineup continues to heighten as the club closes in on clinching the division and prepares for October. (Lewis exited Tuesday’s game with a hamstring injury but is listed as day-to-day.)
As for the five grand slams?
“I mean, I’m still 20 away from A-Rod!” Lewis laughed.
There’s always more work to do.
Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He has covered baseball for his entire adult life, most notably for MLB.com, DAZN and The Ringer. He’s a Mariners fan living in the Eastern Time Zone, which means he loves a good 10 p.m. first pitch. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.
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