After hitting his fifth career grand slam in the Minnesota Twins’ victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night, Royce Lewis has helped lead the Twins to the brink of an American League Central Division title.
But while he has made a major impact in Minnesota, his performance should start to garner national attention – especially in the American League Rookie of the Year race.
Heading into Saturday night’s game, Lewis is hitting .302/.365/.545 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI in 54 games. Comparing Lewis’s numbers with some of the other top rookies, the 24-year-old has forced his way into the AL Rookie of the Year conversation even with impressive outings by Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Volpe and Yanier Diaz.
But even if Lewis’s numbers stack up with his competition, they would be historic if he was able to play a full 162-game season.
Lewis’s projected total of 42 home runs would rank fourth all-time by a rookie since the divisional era began in 1969, trailing Pete Alonso (53 HR in 2019), Aaron Judge (52 HR in 2017) and Mark McGwire (49 HR in 1987).
Lewis’s projected total of 150 RBI would also be historic as it would pass Albert Pujols’s 130 RBI during his rookie season in 2001.
But the most impressive stat on this list is Lewis’s projected 6.9 wins above replacement (WAR) which would tie Texas’s Corey Seager for the MLB lead this season. This is also a number that has historical context as it would rank seventh among rookies in the divisional era.
Unfortunately, Lewis’s recovery from a torn ACL in May 2022 and an oblique injury prevented him from playing a full season, but he still might have done enough to earn consideration for the Rookie of the Year Award.
Willie McCovey won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1959 despite playing in just 52 games, but he hit .354/.429/.656 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI and led NL rookies with 3.2 WAR.
McCovey did have the advantage of playing in a weak rookie class where Joe Kopp was second in WAR (2.7) while hitting .261/.327/.386 with seven homers and 28 RBI in 126 games for Philadelphia, but there’s still merit to Lewis’s dark horse campaign.
It’s likely that this year’s award is Henderson’s to lose as the Orioles are closing in on the No. 1 seed in the American League. But Lewis has made a major impact in his rookie season.
With Lewis mentioned along with some of the names above, he is fulfilling his potential after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft and looks like a franchise cornerstone for the Twins.
