There’s still time for Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton to develop into the dominating one-two punch the Twins were hoping they would become, but if not, there’s a couple of crazy-good prospects starting to make some waves for the Twins in the minors.
Royce Lewis, the 19-year-old shortstop and No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, and Alex Kirilloff, a 20-year-old right field the Twins took in the first round in 2016, might be the next dynamic duo for the Twins.
Both players started the season at low-A Cedar Rapids but have been promoted to high-A Fort Myers, where Lewis has played 11 games and Kirilloff 30.
At Cedar Rapids, Kirilloff led the Midwest League in batting average (.333), homers (13), RBI (56), slugging percentage (.607) and OPS (.999) before being promoted. And he’s only gotten better, hitting .374 for the MIracle entering play Thursday.
What’s crazy is that Kirilloff might be the hottest hitter on the planet right now. Over his last eight games, he’s hitting .606 (20 hits in his last 33 at-bats) with two homers, seven doubles, one triple and nine RBI.
The man is a monster at the plate, and it’s even more incredible when you consider that he missed the entire 2017 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Twins Director of Minor League Operations Jeremy Zoll told the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette that Kirilloff is a “special hitter.”
“He didn’t miss a beat with the missed year last year due to injury,” said Zoll. “His ability to drive the ball to the opposite field and conduct at-bats is special and is going to serve him very well as he progresses through the minor leagues and into the majors.”
Lewis, meanwhile, is the top prospect in the organization and has undeniable talent.
He hit .315 with nine homers, 23 doubles and 53 RBI in 75 games at Cedar Rapids and so far at Fort Myers he’s hitting .273. We’ve written about Lewis a bunch, with one MLB scout recently comparing him to Derek Jeter.
Both players still have a long way to go before we see them in the major leagues with the Twins, but they certainly have the potential to be the future of the franchise.
Now just imagine what could be if Kirilloff and Lewis join the Twins in two or three years and Sano and Buxton have figured it out by then.
