The Minnesota Twins optioned Royce Lewis to Triple-A on Saturday, giving fans a glimpse of the former No. 1 overall pick with the St. Paul Saints.
Royce Lewis has been assigned to Class AAA St. Paul, while IFs Austin Martin and Spencer Steer and OF Aaron Sabato have been assigned to minor-league camp.
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) March 26, 2022
Lewis was the top pick in the 2017 MLB Draft but his career has had its share of ups and downs.
Lewis hit .292 with 14 homers and 28 stolen bases between Low-A Cedar Rapids and Advanced-A Fort Myers in 2018. MLB.com ranked him fifth on their top 100 prospects list prior to the 2019 season but an oblique strain in spring training led to a rocky year.
Although he was promoted to Double-A Pensacola, Lewis hit just .236 with 12 home runs and 22 stolen bases. He rebounded to be the MVP of the Arizona Fall League but the pandemic threw another wrench in a development.
After tearing his ACL last spring, Lewis hasn’t played in an official game since September 2019.
Lewis’s development may have been a reason why the Twins signed Carlos Correa in free agency. With Correa in the majors, Lewis can shake off the rust with the Saints and potentially make his debut in 2023.
With fellow top prospect Jose Miranda already in St. Paul, Lewis could be joined by Austin Martin, Simeon Woods Richardson and Matt Canterino later this summer. That could give Twins fans a good reason to make the trek to CHS Field.
