Is Royce Lewis the Long-Term Answer at First Base?

[Snarkier Than Reusse]

Royce Lewis is no longer the thin, agile and very fast shortstop the Twins drafted in 2017.  Entering his 26-year-old season, he has matured into 200+ lb., big, strong and not as fast power hitter.  Defensively he likely could play any corner infield or outfield position.  That is, if he and Twins management are willing to dedicate Lewis to mastering the nuances of one defensive position.

He has not played a full season at third base so he gets some leeway to further develop his defensive skills at third.  He's adequate defensively with the glove but his throwing needs a lot of work.  Unless he is allowed to use his linebacker build to tackle runners at second base, would his career not be better served by using 2025 to transition him to primarily playing first base by 2026?

The idea seems to have some logic if playing first base helps Lewis avoid the wear and tear of third base and also keep his bat in the lineup when he has minor injuries.  As he gets older and bigger, first base is where his going to end up anyway.  He has the athletic ability to be a Gold Glover at first if he will work at its defensive nuances.  Hey Tom Kelly, can you help a guy out?

Can anyone Lewis him as a Gold Glove second baseman?  Maybe a few, but those people also cheered Miguel Sano as an outfielder.  Allowing players to settle in at one primary position also allows for less mental stress and better at bats.  Many players' offense suffers when playing out of position.  There are few Willi Castro's.

The other Big If: Does the Twins brain trust care enough about defense to allow players (other than the big money guys) to master one defensive position?  My viewpoint is No.  And that is what dooms Rocco's platoon-ball.  Every year's goal should be to win the World Series, not just make the playoffs.  The teams that win it all are solid defensively at every position.  It's time for the Twins to put players like Lewis at positions where they can succeed as our young pitchers mature.

What do you think about Royce Lewis as our first baseman in 2026?

[RpR]

No!

[Schmoeman5]

25 minutes ago, RpR said:

No!

Emphatically.

[tony&rodney]

Royce Lewis was my choice at first base back in November when we put out the rosters. I do not think he is wasted there because he has enough first step to field and his experience with ground balls should help on digging out bad throws. Royce needs a position with some permanence where he can be successful and avoid an injury. The big muscles don't work elsewhere in the infield.

Nevertheless, the idea falls flat for Twins Daily readers, Falvey, and Lewis himself. So it doesn't happen yet. 

[jctwins]

Kind of surprised this didn't surface here yet:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6007826/2024/12/20/royce-lewis-workout-twins-2024/

 

 

[tony&rodney]

58 minutes ago, jctwins said:

Kind of surprised this didn't surface here yet:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6007826/2024/12/20/royce-lewis-workout-twins-2024/

 

 

I mentioned this a while back, a couple of weeks ago. Dan Hayes wrote the article. Lewis wants to regain some of his flexibility and speed. The Athletic is part of the New York Times, which is available for $4 per month. My spouse likes the puzzles. I read The Athletic. When it first started there were a ton of really good writers. It was an ambitious undertaking. The NYT bought it out though and shrunk the size of the writing force. There are still  good writers and Hayes does a good job. 

[DocBauer]

I don't think Lewis to 1B is a bad idea at all. What you want is the best starting 8/9 that you can put on the field on a mostly daily basis. In regards to the INF, 2 or the 4 spots will be Correa...locking down SS for a good three more years I'd say...and Lewis at 2B or 3B, wherever they feel is the ideal spot for him. Other than developing a strange throwing motion last season, for whatever reason, I have no doubt he'd be a fine 3B. I think he'd be great at 2B as well.

A healthy Lee is ready, or will be soon. I think he's ready if 100%, and I'd expect him to be. But Keaschall is the real deal, IMO. What if Julien gets his game back? He really improved at 2B before sliding back to rather average/poor when he struggled with his hitting issues. What if Eeles is a poor man's Altuve and not just a nice story? And what if Culpepper follows a trajectory like Keaschall has been on? He could be ready by 2027, MAYBE by late 2026.

Lewis at 1B is NOT a waste of his talent. I'm reminded of guys like Ertstad and Bellinger who played BOTH CF AND 1B. They did it because they could, and you had a better than normal athlete at 1B when they did.

It's not a waste of talent to simply find the best spots for your best players and get them all on the field.

That being said, Keaschall and Lewis are both 6' and around the 190-200lb range, Lewis probably a little bigger. So maybe Keaschall is as good or the better choice for 1B. And Lewis may have the better arm. We'll see how Keaschall's arm responds/develops post TJ surgery.

No, it's not a bad idea at all to suggest Lewis at 1B. It might make the most sense to get the best starting 4 on the field. But for now, I believe he'll stick at 3B or 2B. And just like Lewis might be a good fit at 1B, I can see Keaschall possibly there as well.

[Steve J]

Could he be? sure but planning on that at this point seems very premature.  

The fact is, there is no 'piece' the Twins could acquire at this point nor personnel decision made that settles the question of the lineup.  Too many question marks and not enough money.  

[Linus]

Royce should not play first  You don’t push players down the defensive spectrum unless you have to and first is rock bottom.  He was the number one overall pick so clearly he has the athleticism to play somewhere other than first.  Plus there is no evidence that playing first will keep him healthier - third base is probably way safer than first with all the awkward collisions that take place at first base.  He can be a good fielder at third or second or left field.  The Twins need to figure it out and let him play there and he will get good.  

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, Linus said:

Royce should not play first  You don’t push players down the defensive spectrum unless you have to and first is rock bottom.  He was the number one overall pick so clearly he has the athleticism to play somewhere other than first.  Plus there is no evidence that playing first will keep him healthier - third base is probably way safer than first with all the awkward collisions that take place at first base.  He can be a good fielder at third or second or left field.  The Twins need to figure it out and let him play there and he will get good.  

The Lewis I saw at the end of 2024 didn’t look athletic and the throwing from third was sketchy. The articles posted here give me hope that he’ll be a bit of a different player. I do think Lee is a better fit at third base if he can hit at a major league level and if Royce is willing to give second a chance before moving him all the way down the spectrum to first base. First base is probably Miranda’s for now with precious little behind him. 

[RpR]

1 minute ago, stringer bell said:

The Lewis I saw at the end of 2024 didn’t look athletic and the throwing from third was sketchy. The articles posted here give me hope that he’ll be a bit of a different player. I do think Lee is a better fit at third base if he can hit at a major league level and if Royce is willing to give second a chance before moving him all the way down the spectrum to first base. First base is probably Miranda’s for now with precious little behind him. 

If Lewis is not good at 3rd by what abnormal reasoning do you think he will not stink worse at 2nd.

[stringer bell]

31 minutes ago, RpR said:

If Lewis is not good at 3rd by what abnormal reasoning do you think he will not stink worse at 2nd.

I didn’t say he stunk.  I believe his zone rating and DRS was about average and that he could be better than that if he is closer to 100%.  The throwing from second would be easier and throwing appeared to me to be Lewis’ biggest issue at third base. 

[RpR]

Just now, stringer bell said:

I didn’t say he stunk.  I believe his zone rating and DRS was about average and that he could be better than that if he is closer to 100%.  The throwing from second would be easier and throwing appeared to me to be Lewis’ biggest issue at third base. 

Double plays from Second base HAVE to be boom-boom quick; failure to do that is why Julien stank there.

Lewis is slow and awkward at 3rd base , where he rarely had to make an out there before thowing the ball, he, probably,  would be no better at Second than Julien who is horrible.

Lewis was much worse at 3rd last year than before, maybe DH is where he will flourish.

[jctwins]

Dumb question maybe, but wouldn't a major league baseball team have a standard regimen for learning a position?

i.e. some crazy number like 10,000 ground balls to each side of the glove, 1,000 double play reps, something like that?

 

[FilthyMogwai]

On 1/3/2025 at 11:14 AM, Snarkier Than Reusse said:

Royce Lewis is no longer the thin, agile and very fast shortstop the Twins drafted in 2017.  Entering his 26-year-old season, he has matured into 200+ lb., big, strong and not as fast power hitter.  Defensively he likely could play any corner infield or outfield position.  That is, if he and Twins management are willing to dedicate Lewis to mastering the nuances of one defensive position.

He has not played a full season at third base so he gets some leeway to further develop his defensive skills at third.  He's adequate defensively with the glove but his throwing needs a lot of work.  Unless he is allowed to use his linebacker build to tackle runners at second base, would his career not be better served by using 2025 to transition him to primarily playing first base by 2026?

The idea seems to have some logic if playing first base helps Lewis avoid the wear and tear of third base and also keep his bat in the lineup when he has minor injuries.  As he gets older and bigger, first base is where his going to end up anyway.  He has the athletic ability to be a Gold Glover at first if he will work at its defensive nuances.  Hey Tom Kelly, can you help a guy out?

Can anyone Lewis him as a Gold Glove second baseman?  Maybe a few, but those people also cheered Miguel Sano as an outfielder.  Allowing players to settle in at one primary position also allows for less mental stress and better at bats.  Many players' offense suffers when playing out of position.  There are few Willi Castro's.

The other Big If: Does the Twins brain trust care enough about defense to allow players (other than the big money guys) to master one defensive position?  My viewpoint is No.  And that is what dooms Rocco's platoon-ball.  Every year's goal should be to win the World Series, not just make the playoffs.  The teams that win it all are solid defensively at every position.  It's time for the Twins to put players like Lewis at positions where they can succeed as our young pitchers mature.

What do you think about Royce Lewis as our first baseman in 2026?

You didn't have to write this. But... you did. *sigh*

[stringer bell]

On 1/4/2025 at 5:38 PM, RpR said:

Lewis was much worse at 3rd last year than before, maybe DH is where he will flourish.

Maybe being closer to 100% healthy will help Royce to flourish. He hasn't played close to a full season, but he's only 25 years old. I don't think he should be written off as a poor fielder and as I stated earlier, even appearing gimpy, his defensive stats weren't that bad (FWIW). 

He didn't look right at the end of the season and maybe he'll learn from the experience or be healthier next September. Either he should be a better player in crunch time. 

[RpR]

9 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Maybe being closer to 100% healthy will help Royce to flourish. He hasn't played close to a full season, but he's only 25 years old. I don't think he should be written off as a poor fielder and as I stated earlier, even appearing gimpy, his defensive stats weren't that bad (FWIW). 

Rather than focusing of his defensive stats, particularly since he has played just over 100 games in the field, I think it was obvious that he wasn't at his best physically at the end of the year. 

This year will decide his future to a great degree; at that the Twins , unless empty seats do not matter to them, cannot afford a mediocre season again and they have Nothing that says it will not be.

[bean5302]

On 1/3/2025 at 11:14 AM, Snarkier Than Reusse said:

Royce Lewis is no longer the thin, agile and very fast shortstop the Twins drafted in 2017.  Entering his 26-year-old season, he has matured into 200+ lb., big, strong and not as fast power hitter...

Lewis is 6'2" tall. Not sure how light you expect him to be at that height? When it comes to speed, 2 ACL surgeries, a severe quad strain and a hip strain make it impossible to tell what his speed will be. Trevor Plouffe has talked about Lewis' throwing issues, and Plouffe seemed in disbelief the Twins haven't been able to coach Lewis on the issue. Lewis' arm is strong enough to play SS. Lewis' speed should grant him the range to play SS. Could he also play 3B/2B? Sure. 1B? I hope not.
SS = +0.75 WAR
2B = +0.25 WAR
3B = +0.25 WAR
1B = -1.25 WAR
 

[mluebker]

On 1/3/2025 at 11:34 AM, tony&rodney said:

Nevertheless, the idea falls flat for Twins Daily readers…

I missed this when it came out, but I think it’s the best place to put him if the Twins want him in the line-up every day. Less risk of injury, no need for him to learn to consistently throw from third to first, and would give him a regular position and an opportunity to concentrate on offense and staying healthy. 

That also would leave third open. If only there were another current infielder on the roster who might be able to stay off the IL, on the field, and in the line-up if he could move there from a more strenuous middle-infield position.