Article: Royce Lewis Promoted to Double-A Pensacola

[Seth Stohs]

Following the Ft. Myers Miracle game on Saturday night, Twins prospect Royce Lewis was promoted to Double-A Pensacola.It's been a busy few days for the Twins in terms of prospects. In the last couple of weeks, the Twins have had top prospects Trevor Larnach, Ryan Jeffers and Jhoan Duran promoted to Double-A Pensacola. Following the announcement of the Twins trade of Lewin Diaz, the Twins announced that top prospect Royce Lewis will join other Twins top prospect in Pensacola.

 

 

It is quite unusual for the Twins PR staff to announce minor league promotions, but Royce Lewis is an obvious exception.

 

Lewis, the #1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, turned 20 in early June. He ends his time with the Miracle hitting .238/.289/.376 (.665) with 17 doubles and 10 home runs.

 

In 19 games this month, he has hit .288 with four doubles and four home runs.

 

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[IndyTwinsFan]

Good for him! I trust he's up to the challenge.

[Squirrel]

wow ... did not see this coming given his slow first half ... but good for him!

[beckmt]

Wonder if moving him along this fast is a need to see.  Both for his trade value (closer to the majors) and to see if he is ready if they trade one of Romero or Buxton this winter for pitching.  My guess is whether they can sign either to an extension early in the winter.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Glad to see it, and great for Lewis. To me it’s a signal he’s not going anywhere.

[PseudoSABR]

Although his over all line is problematic, he has a .864 OPS in July.  Also 10 home runs in a little over half a season at in the Florida state league isn't nothing to sneeze at (8 of those coming since June began), especially from an up-the-middle player.  

 

I think being out of Ft. Myers will help Lewis quite a bit. Obviously the Twins like his approach lately, or this promotion would not have happened. 

[darin617]

Was the promotion earned or are they hoping for the best.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Wonder if moving him along this fast is a need to see.  Both for his trade value (closer to the majors) and to see if he is ready if they trade one of Romero or Buxton this winter for pitching.  My guess is whether they can sign either to an extension early in the winter.

 

No... What he does in 3 games at AA is going to have absolutely no effect on his trade value... 

[Darius]

Wait, we’re back to trading Buxton again? I thought we were trading Sano. It’s really hard to keep track from week to week.

 

In all seriousness. Buxton isn’t going anywhere.

 

I like the aggression on this one.

Edited July 28, 2019 by Darius

[Doctor Wu]

 

Wait, we’re back to trading Buxton again? I thought we were trading Sano. It’s really hard to keep track from week to week.

In all seriousness. Buxton isn’t going anywhere.

I like the aggression on this one.

My thoughts exactly. I can't see a Buxton trade at all. And any value that Romero had has plummeted this season.

[Mike Sixel]

This is good news. The front office thinks he's ready for AA. That's a bit surprising, but good.

[wabene]

This guy is going to get pushed like Buxton was and likely will struggle just like Buxton. Hopefully then he will figure it out. Will be fun to watch for some and excruciating for others!

[gunnarthor]

I suspect that he earned his promotion. He's been better in July and has probably figured out some of the mechanics that were affecting him earlier in the season. The team might want to see how he does against AA pitchers and/or getting out of the pitching friendly FSL.

[jkcarew]

Concur that the FO will look for every bit of evidence to justify aggressiveness with Lewis. He’s been better offensively for a few weeks, and off he goes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the bat struggles a bit at Pensacola for a while, but if it gets too bad, they can always promote him to Rochester, where everyone hits (see Jaylin Davis, or Jimmy Kerrigan. Or anybody.)

[Dan In Real Life]

Hmm. Might be a good time to visit Pensacola.

[gman]

2020 could really be interesting for new bats coming to Minnesota.

[ashbury]

Glad to see it, and great for Lewis. To me it’s a signal he’s not going anywhere.

Certainly not before this trade deadline - you wouldn't jerk a player around like that, telling him to pack for Pensacola and then to pack for some different AA city a few days later.

 

Or, if you're cynical, you wouldn't pay the moving expenses, instead letting the next team do that. <eye roll>

[Alex Schieferdecker]

Is there a top Twins prospect who is not in Pensacola right now? 

[Major League Ready]

 

2020 could really be interesting for new bats coming to Minnesota.

 

I think (hope) we will have some interesting new arms ... not so sure about bats. Where would you put them? Arreaz takes over 2B for Schoop. Every other position is set with perhaps the exception of back-up catcher. Someone will get playing time as the 4th outfielder but that's about it.

[D.C Twins]

I continue to agree with Law's assessment of Lewis unfortunately... I'm not at all convinced that whatever his underlying problem is (probably his swing)...has been fixed. This seems to be rushed with a sprinkle of wishful thinking...

[BrianBuchanan]

Is it too soon to push Spencer Steer up to Fort Myers? He's bashing Low-A pitching at a prodigious rate (in a small sample size) after brutalizing the Appy league as a 21 y/o 2019 draftee.

[twins1095]

My thoughts exactly. I can't see a Buxton trade at all. And any value that Romero had has plummeted this season.

I could be remembering wrong, but I don’t think Buxton struggled as a hitter in the minors much before his call-up. He struggled as a major league hitter and with injuries in his minor league career, but his production when healthy spoke for itself.

[BrianTrottier]

 

Wonder if moving him along this fast is a need to see.  Both for his trade value (closer to the majors) and to see if he is ready if they trade one of Romero or Buxton this winter for pitching.  My guess is whether they can sign either to an extension early in the winter.

 

Why on earth would they trade Buxton?