Could Royce Lewis Benefit From a Minor League Reset?

[Cody Schoenmann]

Image courtesy of © Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

On this past Wednesday's episode of Effectively Wild, titled "Playing the Hits," podcast co-hosts Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discussed Texas Rangers infielder Jake Burger's recent "minor league reset." Acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins last offseason, Texas brought Burger to the Lone Star State with intentions of turning the right-handed hitting power bat into the club's primary starting first baseman. Unfortunately, the 29-year-old struggled his first month in Texas, hitting .190/.231/.330 with a 29.6% strikeout rate and 55 wRC+.

Performing 45% worse than league average, Rangers decision-makers elected to demote the former Marlin to Triple-A Round Rock with intentions of him finding his footing at the plate and becoming the hitter that convinced Texas to trade for him in the first place. Spending 10 days in Round Rock, Burger refound his form, hitting .391/.462/.696 with a 193 wRC+ over 26 plate appearances. The corner infielder also significantly improved his strikeout rate at Triple-A, striking out only 7.7% of the time.

Since being promoted back to the majors on May 12, Burger has returned to being an above-average major league hitter, hitting .237/.262/.508 with an improved 23% strikeout rate and 114 wRC+. Twenty-three of Burger's 61 plate appearances since returning from Triple-A have come against Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox pitching. Still, his return to form suggests that the offseason acquisition could become the offensive contributor Texas had hoped he would be after acquiring him last offseason.

In the podcast episode, Lindbergh describes Burger's demotion as the "platonic ideal of the minor league reset" while also noting that "Maybe (Burger) was gonna hit better anyway, because he was expected to hit well. That's why they acquired him." Lindbergh later stated, "It would be kind of a shock to the system to bent sent back to Triple-A. And I guess that was the idea. And it was a good shock to the system. It sort of jump-started him. I think for me, it would do the opposite. I'd get even more in my head."

Lindbergh's analysis was reasonable. A significant number of established major leaguers would not handle a demotion to Triple-A well. However, later in the episode, Rowley noted that "...What I've heard from scouts who interacted with (Burger) on the complex while he was working his way back through all of that is just that, like, he has a good perspective on things, he is a cheerful person, and you know, he by all rights could have been discouraged and seems like he was able to sort of weather the psychological load of all that impressively."

Rowley continued, proclaiming, "And it seems like it's hard (to make adjustments in-season), and it takes time, and like, are you going to be able to actually do the work in game against like big league fastballs and big league breakers? Like impossible." She continues, "And, so, I do think for some of these guys, it's like not a relief to be sent down. Like, obviously, you want to be in the show. But to really have the room to work through it and readjust and reset seems like it would be meaningful and...on some level, it could be a relief if you're thinking about it the right way."

While discussing the number of variables that would go into a minor league reset, Lindbergh and Rowley come to the justified consensus that the player undergoing the reset would need to possess the correct, optimistic mindset. If the specific player did not possess that mindset, then the club would run the risk of exacerbating the player's struggles. Burger possessed the correct mindset and, to this point, has benefited from his brief minor-league tune-up. Interestingly, presently struggling Minnesota Twins infielder Royce Lewis could also potentially benefit from a similar reset.

Since returning from the IL on May 6, the 25-year-old corner infielder is hitting .138/.200/.215 with a 17 wRC+ over 70 plate appearances. Despite generating an impressive 14.3% strikeout rate and well-above-average bat speed and squared-up rate, Lewis has been unable to consistently produce meaningful results at the plate, a trend that dates back to late August last season. While it is unknown whether Lewis's newfound inability to produce at the plate is health-related or swing mechanics-related (or both), major league pitchers are exploiting his shortcomings, resulting in his worst start to a season in his young career.

Whether Lewis's indomitable optimism is genuine or not is a matter for debate. However, considering his innate ability to perceive misfortune through rose-tinted glasses publicly, there is reason to believe Lewis would embody a positive outlook on a short-lived demotion to Triple-A, similar to how Burger handled his situation with Texas. The trio of Jonah Bride, Brooks Lee, and Willi Castro could viably fill the void at third base left by Lewis's hypothetical absence. However, given the overall club's anemic performance at the plate, Twins decision-makers might have no choice but to provide Lewis the opportunity to continue working through his offensive shortcomings at the major league level. 

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Would a short demotion benefit or hurt Royce Lewis and the Twins? Let us know in the comments. 

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[Rod Carews Birthday]

He would benefit greatly and it is well beyond time to do it. He’s been a mess offensively since the middle of last season and in his current form does almost nothing for the team. The Twins did it with Wallner and Buxton with good success.  Julian and Miranda were no worse when they were sent down. Time for the reset.  

[TopGunn#22]

I think Lewis should definitely spend a little time in St. Paul (and I've got him on my Fantasy Baseball team).  He's struggling mightily and the current course is not trending "upwards." 

Sometimes a guy just needs a little reset.  Last night's comeback was fantastic, but check your Twins box score this morning and you'll see that Royce had an 0 for 4 with a walk.  As you pointed out, it worked for Jake Burger and it could also work for Lewis.

He's not helping the team with a .130 BA, .200 OBP and .203 SLG.  You could have a glove like Brooks Robinson and you'd still be hurting the team.  Give Lewis one week of AB's at AAA to get his confidence back and start seeing the ball better. 

 

[OvertheHill]

Should have happened already. Some bad luck involved, but mostly needs to work on mechanics and that shouldn’t be happening in an everyday MLB lineup. At least Rocco has been dropping him down the order but it’s just painful watching the guy these days. 

[MileHighTwinsFan]

No question that Royce is struggling at the plate. He looks uncomfortable and his confidence is flagging. Could Royce benefit from a reset? Maybe.  
 

I also think as the team gets back to full strength and others can carry more of the offensive burden, I think he is capable of working this out with the Twins.

With veteran leadership from Correa and Buxton back on the field and an upcoming series against a poor A’s club, I Could see a quick turnaround.  
 

I say, let him finish the road trip and then reevaluate.

 

[Patzky]

38 minutes ago, OvertheHill said:

Should have happened already. Some bad luck involved, but mostly needs to work on mechanics and that shouldn’t be happening in an everyday MLB lineup. At least Rocco has been dropping him down the order but it’s just painful watching the guy these days. 

I suspect Wallner will be in Seattle shortly. I noticed they pulled Emmy Rodriguez last night mid game.. do the tea leaves say something? Guess Keirsey or Bride may be sent down... Bader likely staying off the IL as he played last night.. Royce seems the other candidate if things align.

[Patzky]

14 minutes ago, MileHighTwinsFan said:

No question that Royce is struggling at the plate. He looks uncomfortable and his confidence is flagging. Could Royce benefit from a reset? Maybe.  
 

I also think as the team gets back to full strength and others can carry more of the offensive burden, I think he is capable of working this out with the Twins.

With veteran leadership from Correa and Buxton back on the field and an upcoming series against a poor A’s club, I Could see a quick turnaround.  
 

I say, let him finish the road trip and then reevaluate.

 

"I don't do slumps" began in Oakland. Will it end there?

 

(Literally no it will not. Maybe he needs to visit the Coliseum and shake the bad juju on the way to Sacramento.)

[Patzky]

41 minutes ago, OvertheHill said:

Should have happened already. Some bad luck involved, but mostly needs to work on mechanics and that shouldn’t be happening in an everyday MLB lineup. At least Rocco has been dropping him down the order but it’s just painful watching the guy these days. 

Removing him for a faster runner after we got the lead in the 10th says a lot.

[stringer bell]

Either St. Paul or the Injured List. The Rangers brought Corey Seager back too soon and had to put him back on the IL and I think there’s ample evidence that Lewis isn’t physically right yet.

There’s enough depth to cover third base without Lewis and bringing back the guy who played like a superstar his first 100 games is worth not having the diminished player we’ve seen the last 10 months. 

[Eris]

I’m sure that most major league players realize that hitting 0.130 isn’t going to cut it and Lewis should be sent down or put on IL if he is hurt. The Twins have at least 3 options to play 3B without Lewis. 

[Mike Sixel]

It would help the Twins.....

[USAFChief]

This article seems to imply Lewis should decide whether he should be in St Paul or Minnesota. 

Nonconcur.

 

[Schmoeman5]

He needs to get healthy 1st. Then he can can try and get on track in St. Paul. He's not running even close to 100%. There was a play last night. Pop-up in foul ground that 29 other 3rd baseman would have caught, which Jeffers had to haul in. I know he was positioned closer to SS on that particular play. But it was still his ball. Right now he's not helping the ball club a whole lot. He did work a walk in the 6 run 10th.

[Linus]

30 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

It would help the Twins.....

Yep. This is the part people are overlooking to a certain extent. We have multiple option to play third Thats are better than this version of Royce. 

[Mark G]

 

 Could Royce Lewis Benefit From a Minor League Reset?

Let's see.........how can I put this.........

YES!

 

 

[Linus]

7 minutes ago, Schmoeman5 said:

He needs to get healthy 1st. Then he can can try and get on track in St. Paul. He's not running even close to 100%. There was a play last night. Pop-up in foul ground that 29 other 3rd baseman would have caught, which Jeffers had to haul in. I know he was positioned closer to SS on that particular play. But it was still his ball. Right now he's not helping the ball club a whole lot. He did work a walk in the 6 run 10th.

I thought the same thing. Not only did Jeffers run a long way Royce wasnt even in the TV picture when Jeffers caught it. 

[Craig Arko]

Probably. 

[karcherd]

22 minutes ago, Schmoeman5 said:

He needs to get healthy 1st. Then he can can try and get on track in St. Paul. He's not running even close to 100%. There was a play last night. Pop-up in foul ground that 29 other 3rd baseman would have caught, which Jeffers had to haul in. I know he was positioned closer to SS on that particular play. But it was still his ball. Right now he's not helping the ball club a whole lot. He did work a walk in the 6 run 10th.

Wasn't he positioned more where the shortstop normally would be.  It was a left handed hitter up and Correa was playing up the middle.  Foul popups are tough to get to when you play the modified shift.  I am not trying to defend Lewis but I am not sure this is an instance where he was given the best chance to succeed.  It is interesting he looked like he was moving better and was coming around on the last road trip but then on the homestand he started looking lost again.  I still wonder if the team is telling him not to go all out or is it him.  Remember last year in his first rehab game, he stole second and the team was not happy about it.  It does not feel like it is in his nature to not go all out.  So either let him play or put him back on the IL if he is not healthy.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

20 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I agree that a reset in STP would help him get right.  Is Austin Martin healthy and a candidate for coming up?

No, but Matt Wallner is!

[Western SD Fan]

I've been pleading for this for two weeks now in every thread involving Royce that he either should be put back on the IL or optioned down.  My hope is that the hitting coaches have developed a plan for him to work on if he does finally get sent out.  Plouffe finally said on last night's broadcast what we have all been seeing, that it doesn't look like Royce's is using his legs as part of his swing.  I'm also of the opinion that they need to do something before his attitude breaks.  Plouffe also suggested last night that every hitter has their breaking point and I'd rather something get done with Royce before he is broken irreparably.  I do think he would be a good candidate for a reset with the expectation given to him that he will be back up to the ML club when he is fully ready and can contribute.  My hope is that the FO is not factoring in ticket sales or something like that as part of the reason to not do something with Royce.  They also do face a small roster conundrum as if the DFA Bride, he will likely get picked up by another organization and not pass waivers

[Western SD Fan]

8 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Wasn't he positioned more where the shortstop normally would be.  It was a left handed hitter up and Correa was playing up the middle.  Foul popups are tough to get to when you play the modified shift.  I am not trying to defend Lewis but I am not sure this is an instance where he was given the best chance to succeed.  It is interesting he looked like he was moving better and was coming around on the last road trip but then on the homestand he started looking lost again.  I still wonder if the team is telling him not to go all out or is it him.  Remember last year in his first rehab game, he stole second and the team was not happy about it.  It does not feel like it is in his nature to not go all out.  So either let him play or put him back on the IL if he is not healthy.

This may be true.  The part that got to me was that he slowed down to a jog like he quit on the play.  That's what bothered me the most was the lack of hustle.

[Schmoeman5]

10 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Wasn't he positioned more where the shortstop normally would be.  It was a left handed hitter up and Correa was playing up the middle.  Foul popups are tough to get to when you play the modified shift.  I am not trying to defend Lewis but I am not sure this is an instance where he was given the best chance to succeed.  It is interesting he looked like he was moving better and was coming around on the last road trip but then on the homestand he started looking lost again.  I still wonder if the team is telling him not to go all out or is it him.  Remember last year in his first rehab game, he stole second and the team was not happy about it.  It does not feel like it is in his nature to not go all out.  So either let him play or put him back on the IL if he is not healthy.

I pointed that out in my post. How he was positioned in the SS spot. Jeffers caught the pop-up pretty level with 3rd base which means he ran 90+ feet with gear on.

[karcherd]

2 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

This may be true.  The part that got to me was that he slowed down to a jog like he quit on the play.  That's what bothered me the most was the lack of hustle.

I understand, but did he slow down because he heard Jeffers call for it.  That for me is the hard point is he wasn't in the screen the whole time so I am not sure if we really know what happened.  Right now it is easy to pile on Royce and a lot of it is justified but I am not sure if in this instance it is.

[Major League Ready]

2 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I agree that a reset in STP would help him get right.  Is Austin Martin healthy and a candidate for coming up?

Martin has not played in over 3 weeks but that does not change the viability of sending Lewis down.  They can play Lee, Castro or Bride to 3rd.  They have Castro, Clemens and Lee for 2nd.   Castro is not needed in the OF when Wallner gets back.

[Schmoeman5]

1 minute ago, karcherd said:

I understand, but did he slow down because he heard Jeffers call for it.  That for me is the hard point is he wasn't in the screen the whole time so I am not sure if we really know what happened.  Right now it is easy to pile on Royce and a lot of it is justified but I am not sure if in this instance it is.

It's not piling on Lewis. It's the fact that he's not healthy and CAN'T perform

[LambchoP]

Yes, and it's way past due. His mechanics are way off and he looks slow and awkward with everything he does. If he's hurt, he needs to fix that first. Then he has to go to AAA until he earns his way back to the Twins. Right now he's just hurting the team.

[D.C Twins]

Yes...yes he could

[gman]

He is not using his leg in the field nor is he using his legs on the base paths. If you watch him hit he is not using his legs at the plate either. He apparently has no right leg strength which to me shows he should be on the injured list.

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

This article seems to imply Lewis should decide whether he should be in St Paul or Minnesota. 

Nonconcur.

 

Get with the times. The player decides what position and what team/level. Lest they become upset and run away.

[bean5302]

Nope. That ship has sailed. The Twins called him up too quickly before he was ready and he struggled with rust and trying to adapt to MLB caliber pitching right out of the gate. Lewis has been getting better and better. The last few games, Lewis has been making good contact and hitting the ball hard. He's really getting close at this point, just needs a few of those hard hits to go over the fence rather than being robbed and a couple of those near miss pop ups to be line drives as his launch angles improve.

Demoting him at this point is probably just wasting him as he's starting to get strong signals he's ready. Send him down, watch him immediately OPS 1.500 in AAA for 2 weeks to call him back up would be awfully annoying.