The Twins’ No. 1 draft pick Royce Lewis has torn his ACL, and will have to go undergo reconstruction surgery.
The Twins’ president Derek Falvey revealed Lewis’ injury on Wednesday, with the 21-year-old shortstop set to go under the knife on Friday, after feeling soreness in his right knee upon intake ahead of the 2021 season.
Lewis said he'd been feeling some soreness while doing offseason drills, and then he slipped on some ice during the recent storms in Texas to exacerbate it. Falvey said it's hard to know where specifically the issue started.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) February 24, 2021
It comes as a huge blow for Lewis, who was drafted at No. 1 by the Twins in the 2017 MLB Draft, and is ranked as one of the top prospects in baseball.
He didn’t play in the minors last year as the season was canceled due to COVID-19, but he played in the Double-A Southern League in 2019, hitting .236 with 12 homers, 49 RBIs and 22 stolen bases across 127 games.
The Athletic’s Dan Hayes notes Lewis’ recovery will likely take 9-12 months, at the end of which he’ll likely find himself at Double-A Wichita.
Plan very likely was for Royce Lewis to start the 2021 season at Double-A Wichita. When he's back to the field in 9-12 months, that is likely the level he begins at.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) February 24, 2021
