The Minnesota Twins need help at the plate and reinforcements could be on the way in the form of Royce Lewis.
Lewis continued to rake during his rehab assignment, clubbing two home runs in the St. Paul Saints’ 8-1 victory over Columbus. In five games so far between the Saints and Double-A Wichita, Lewis is 8-for-18 (.444) at the plate with three homers, seven RBI and three stolen bases in four attempts.
Another night, another home run for Royce Lewis🚨 pic.twitter.com/JCcOr7BThn
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) May 20, 2023
Royce Lewis went deep againđź’Ą
Here's his second home run of the night, 404ft at an exit velocity of 107mph🔥 pic.twitter.com/SaoFkjE7k7
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) May 20, 2023
Talent has never been a question for Lewis, who was selected by the Twins with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft. Lewis’s path to the majors has been anything but conventional, however, as he missed development time when the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lewis tore his ACL during an ice storm in Texas prior to the 2021 season but looked like a breakout star in 2022, hitting .313/.405/.534 with five homers and 12 stolen bases in 34 games for the Saints and going 12-for-41, with two homers and five RBI in 12 games with the Twins.
Lewis was producing at such a high level the Twins considered using him in a super-utility role to get his bat in the lineup but he tore his ACL for the second time in a span of 15 months while playing center field last May.
“It feels like if you had a dream, and it was taken away from you, and you got it back,” Lewis told MiLB’s Brendan Samson. “That’s just how I’m treating it. I love this game so much and it means so much for me to be out there having fun and making jokes and just enjoying myself.”
Twins fans may be screaming for Lewis to be called up after the Twins were hitless for the first 5.2 innings of a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night but there are some obstacles to overcome.
The first is the timeline Lewis has been given for his recovery. After being placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the season, Lewis isn’t eligible to be activated until the Twins open a three-game series in Houston on May 29.
The other is establishing Lewis’s position in the field. Lewis has been alternating between shortstop and third base during his rehab assignment and started at shortstop on Friday night. But with Carlos Correa entrenched at short for the next six years, it appears Lewis’s future is at the hot corner.
Either way, Lewis looks ready to make his way back to the majors and it could be the jumpstart the Twins lineup needs to contend in the American League.
