The Twins Need This Version of Royce Lewis to Stick Around
After battling through an MiLB demotion and raking in the minors, Royce Lewis is back up and slugging once again for the Twins. All is right in the world.
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When the Minnesota Twins sent Royce Lewis down to Triple-A St. Paul, many thought it was the beginning of the end for the once top prospect. After much initial hype, devastating injuries, moments of true greatness, and a prolonged slump, many thought the bloom was off the rose forever.
But when Lewis returned to the Twins after a spectacular 15-day reset, trust and faith in the young player were restored. But there were also subtle changes in his makeup that should bode well for him and the team in their future together.
Royce Lewis’ Arduous Journey
Lewis’ path has been strewn with injuries, a pandemic, and a loss of confidence. He was selected right out of high school by the Twins with the first overall pick in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft. Lewis had a meteoric rise through the team’s farm system, ending the 2019 campaign with the Pensacola Wahoos of the Double-A Southern League.
He was honored as the 2018 MVP of the Midwest League and was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game. He was chosen as the 2019 MVP of the Arizona Fall League and seemed destined for a rapid promotion to the big club. Before the beginning of the 2019 season, he was ranked as the fifth-best prospect by MLB.com.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world in 2020. Because of this, Lewis and all minor leaguers saw their entire season canceled for health reasons. And on February 24, 2021, he was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. This forced him to sit out the entire season.
Lewis, fully recovered, made his major league debut at shortstop on May 6, 2022. And he was off to a great start batting .300 along with a grand slam off Cleveland’s Bryan Shaw on May 13. But it all came crashing down when he re-tore his right ACL on May 29 and was lost for the year.
Moments of Greatness
Lewis returned to the Twins exactly one year later. Although he missed 47 games due to oblique and hamstring strains, 2023 was the year he finally displayed the talent the team had been waiting to see. On August 27, Minnesota was down five runs to the Texas Rangers when Lewis hit a grand slam to ignite the team to a 7-6 win.
He slammed another grand slam the next night against the Guardians. By doing this, he became the first Twins player to hit one in consecutive games. He would hit two more grand slams before the end of the season, setting a new franchise record. His slash line for the month was .313/.410/.612, with six homers and 23 RBI. This performance earned him the American League (AL) Rookie of the Month award.
But Lewis was not done with his hitting tear. In Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, he launched two home runs in his first two playoff at-bats. He would add two more before Minnesota was eliminated by Houston in the AL Division Series. This tied him with Kirby Puckett for the team record for most round trippers in a postseason.
The Fade
In the 2024 opener, Lewis continued his hot streak. He hit home runs in his first two at-bats, but disaster struck again. He suffered a strained quad muscle, which forced him out of the game. The injury was so severe that he would not return to the lineup until June 4th. A month later, he suffered an abductor strain, which kept him out of the lineup an additional three weeks.
Due to the injuries that season, he was limited to 82 games. He hit 16 homers and drove in 47, but his batting average cratered to .232. Worse yet, Twins shortstop and team leader Carlos Correa lambasted some of his teammates for a lack of effort down the stretch. Implicit in his declaration was that Lewis was among this group.
2025 brought no relief for Lewis. He was limited to 81 games due to right quad, adductor, and hamstring strains. And possibly due to injuries or a lack of confidence, his slash line in the season’s second half was putrid: .207/.270/.350.
If anyone needed a hot start to the 2026 season, it was Royce Lewis.
But that was not to be. He was mired in a terrible slump when he suffered a left knee sprain. After another 10-day trip on the injured list, he appeared lost at the plate. With no other options, the Twins sent Lewis down to the St. Paul Saints on May 19. His slash line at that moment was .167/.269/.300 with only three home runs and 12 RBI’s. Was this the beginning of the end for the once top prospect?
Lewis’ Visit to St. Paul and Redemption
Many thought the deck was stacked against Lewis. But then something miraculous happened. After some initial grumbling about his demotion, Lewis went to work on resetting his game. He did so in two specific ways. Lewis began to lift and plant his back foot, which allows him to get into his legs and feel looser and fitter at the plate. When he did this, he began to hit rockets.
Second, he expressed interest in and a desire to explore playing other positions. In conjunction with Lewis’ demotion, the Twins moved Brooks Lee from short to third, which is a more natural position for him. That meant that upon his return to the majors, position flexibility was his ticket back into the starting lineup.
The results? Better than anyone could have dreamed of. In his time with the Saints, he hit .333 with a 1.303 OPS, 10 HR, and 14 extra-base hits in just 15 games. How you gonna keep that down on the farm?!
And since he’s been back? In 37 plate appearances, he’s sporting a slash line of .324/.381/.622. He has also added three home runs, seven RBI, and an OPS of 1.003. Twins manager Derek Shelton has said that the energy Lewis has brought to the team since his recall is “palpable.”
The Real Royce Lewis
Given how much time Lewis has invested in his game, he and the Twins hope that this version of him is here to stay. He has made the necessary mental and physical changes, and his game has taken off. Here’s hoping for his and his team’s continued success.
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