Royce Lewis is On a Roll. What Changed?

[Alex Boxwell]

Image courtesy of © Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Royce Lewis has been a hot topic this year because of his shaky performance with the bat, but now it appears he’s heating up. With a ridiculous shift in the quality of his at-bats, it’s normal to ask what changed. What if I told you nothing changed—or at least that whatever changes there have been are not the reasons for his resurgence?

When things go bad for a hitter, everyone wants to blame the swing. When it comes to hitting at a high level, though, I talk a lot about pitch selection, rhythm, timing, and confidence. It’s an uncomfortable reality for a lot of players, but a hitter's swing sometimes stays largely the same their whole career. We see a lot of adjustments to setup and load mechanisms, but once a hitter's front foot gets on the ground, the hitter's swing generally stays very recognizable. 

One great example from my lifetime is Cody Bellinger. He played in the Little League World Series, and you could see him swing at 12 years old and you’d know exactly who it is. His tenure as a big leaguer has had huge swings in level of performance. His swing, however, remains immediately recognizable, and it bears a striking resemblance to the one you saw if you watched him at age 12.

The last few days, we're seeing a ‘different’ Royce Lewis. When I say ‘different,’ though, it doesn’t take someone with a Ph.D. in baseball to recognize that he looks much better. His legs are underneath him more; he has changed his setup. He's more open in his stance and starting more upright, less spread-out, even compared to last month, so that's something—but more than anything, he is in rhythm and on time at the plate. Lewis’s swing was never the main issue.

Lewis was quoted after hitting the two homers in Colorado, to that effect.

“Nothing felt different at all,” he said after that outburst, which he's followed up with more hard hitting this week in Los Angeles.

It is irresponsible of a player not to work on their swing and fine-tune things, but the higher the level of play, the more minuscule the swing changes become. The three biggest things for a hitter are things that rarely get addressed or emphasized in training. As a coach, it’s the first three things I ask players when they say, “What’s wrong with my swing?” after an at-bat. I immediately ask, “Did you see the ball well? Did you swing at a strike? And were you on time?”

The abundant talent that made Lewis a first-round pick didn’t evaporate because of a pulled hamstring. There was a clear loss of timing, pitch selection, and some confidence. Once he had the all-clear to play, there was some clear hesitancy to push anything with the hamstring. This becomes a very delicate situation for a player and personnel. Lewis needed the at-bats to get going and to be himself, but he didn’t have confidence in the hamstring.

I had my fair share of hamstring issues, too, and running sprints in a controlled environment is way different than smelling a knock after nubbing one between the pitcher and the first baseman. So, everyone is left in the uncomfortable position of needing a guy to be healthy, but also needing to stay sharp with in-game at-bats. These decisions can’t be made with a one-size-fits-all solution, and once the decision is made, second-guessing doesn't help anyone. 

Lewis has overcome many unfortunate injuries, but he stole a base in game one against L.A. and has hit a lot of balls hard lately, including blasting another homer Wednesday. He looks healthy. He looks great at the plate, with his usual great swing. He is on time, in rhythm, and confident in his body. He has put himself in a position to feel like a huge trade deadline acquisition for this Twins ball club—and it came, not with a mechanical change, but by finding the clarity and confidence that has unlocked his skills again.

View full article

[DocBauer]

I don't disagree with the OP. But it's my understanding that Royce recently "gave in" and stated that the injuries have taken a toll on his body. And that's not hard to dismiss when you consider 2 separate knee injuries and a collection of lower body muscle pulls and the such. Additionally, through his rehabs and weight training, and general physical growth, he's a larger, stronger human being than he was 3 or 4 years ago.

So while I don't know if he's changed his approach, or tweaked his load differently, but he has to have altered something in order to compensate. I think we're starting to see the fruition of those changes...small as they may be...along with better timing and yes, more confidence.

How good he can or will be as a hitter is still TBD. He may yet be a .290-.300 hitter with 30HR power and an .840 OPS. Or he might "only" be a .270-.280 hitter with 25HR and a .780 OPS. But as young as he is, as good of an overall athlete that he is, as hard or a worker as he is, I've always felt he would get back on the right side of things eventually.

Who he is today might not be who he is next season. But I'm still betting he's going to be a really fine ML player, and big part of the Twins for the next few years, even if it turns out he's not going to be Superman.

[LA Vikes Fan]

I hope you're right. Having a solid Lewis would really help this lineup. Now if only Rocco would bat him in the 4 or 5 spot instead of Correa or France . . .

[JD-TWINS]

He looks different at 3B - looks different running the bases - looks better at the plate with 6 hits in his last 13 AB’s ……..5 for XBH over 3.5 games.

It’s Wednesday afternoon and on Saturday the headline at TD was “…………..The unending struggles of Royce Lewis are tough to decipher.” What will tomorrow bring?

[DocBauer]

34 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I hope you're right. Having a solid Lewis would really help this lineup. Now if only Rocco would bat him in the 4 or 5 spot instead of Correa or France . . .

When he's ready, he will be. Rocco takes a long view, which I don't disagree with. He takes time to demote, and takes time to promote. 

It's ridiculous to realize that at times, someone like France has been the best option for a top spot in the lineup. But when 3 of your 4 best players are all struggling, that's the current hand you are dealt.

And that's what makes this whole season so damn frustrating! 

Imagine Lewis. Correa, and Wallner NOT having career seasons, just solid, average years based on projections and past production. Now add Buxton to the mix with a solid Larnach and Jeffers. Then mix in Castro, the solid Larnach, and the unexpected contributions from Bader, France, and Clemens. 

Even with injuries we've had to deal with, that lineup, even with some injury issues to the staff, has this team firmly planted in a WC spot, even if they can't catch Detroit.

Again, that's what's so frustrating about this season!

[Doctor Gast]

It's great finally having his legs under him. I knew it'd be a matter of time.

[jkcarew]

I think the first thing you do (if you believe in the talent) is nothing. He’s young/inexperienced enough…780 career PA…that it’s not at all out of the ordinary to still be in the ‘figuring it out’ stage as the league makes its adjustments against you.

I remain way more concerned about the health than the performance in the long term.

[chpettit19]

He looks healthy. He looks like a whole new man. Which is a little crazy to have happen seemingly at the drop of a hat, but it's what it looks like. Maybe it's just him trusting his legs more? Just letting it rip and saying "f it, if I get hurt I get hurt?" He's running full speed. Swinging from his heels. Looks to be playing free. Good for him. A free and loose Royce Lewis is a really good baseball player. It'll be huge for the 2026 Twins if the last 2 months of 2025 Royce Lewis is really good. May not be enough to save the 2025 Twins, but it's important for the offseason decisions and the 2026 Twins.

[DocBauer]

44 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

He looks healthy. He looks like a whole new man. Which is a little crazy to have happen seemingly at the drop of a hat, but it's what it looks like. Maybe it's just him trusting his legs more? Just letting it rip and saying "f it, if I get hurt I get hurt?" He's running full speed. Swinging from his heels. Looks to be playing free. Good for him. A free and loose Royce Lewis is a really good baseball player. It'll be huge for the 2026 Twins if the last 2 months of 2025 Royce Lewis is really good. May not be enough to save the 2025 Twins, but it's important for the offseason decisions and the 2026 Twins.

I still think it's about making adjustments. 

He says he ran out of gas to end 2024 and has been struggling with a new approach to compensate for the changes in his body. (Reference my previous post). 

This kid has been through hell when you look at injuries and rehab. All he wants to do is play ball. But when you've been through what he's gone through, you either give up, or you keep working.

I hurt my knee a decade ago plus. Im OK and compensate here and there. Thankfully I never injured it twice. Can you imagine doing the same thing twice as an elite athlete? 

Again, I think this is about him making adjustments to his base and timing. How good/great he might be going forward is TBD. But right NOW, it's about adjustments made in approach and timing.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

He looks healthy. He looks like a whole new man. Which is a little crazy to have happen seemingly at the drop of a hat, but it's what it looks like. Maybe it's just him trusting his legs more? Just letting it rip and saying "f it, if I get hurt I get hurt?" He's running full speed. Swinging from his heels. Looks to be playing free. Good for him. A free and loose Royce Lewis is a really good baseball player. It'll be huge for the 2026 Twins if the last 2 months of 2025 Royce Lewis is really good. May not be enough to save the 2025 Twins, but it's important for the offseason decisions and the 2026 Twins.

This is exactly what I thought. The feet are solid. He actually runs. For god's sake, he stole a base. He goes for ground balls and doesn't take three extra steps to throw. Everything physical looks different. Who knew?

 

 

[wornsmooth]

On 7/23/2025 at 7:27 PM, jkcarew said:

I think the first thing you do (if you believe in the talent) is nothing. He’s young/inexperienced enough…780 career PA…that it’s not at all out of the ordinary to still be in the ‘figuring it out’ stage as the league makes its adjustments against you.

I remain way more concerned about the health than the performance in the long term.

I am old enough to remember reading Calvin Griffith said he would fire anyone who tried to change how Tony Oliva hits.

Very Tao of old Cal.

[wornsmooth]

On 7/23/2025 at 5:41 PM, DocBauer said:

I don't disagree with the OP. But it's my understanding that Royce recently "gave in" and stated that the injuries have taken a toll on his body. And that's not hard to dismiss when you consider 2 separate knee injuries and a collection of lower body muscle pulls and the such. Additionally, through his rehabs and weight training, and general physical growth, he's a larger, stronger human being than he was 3 or 4 years ago.

So while I don't know if he's changed his approach, or tweaked his load differently, but he has to have altered something in order to compensate. I think we're starting to see the fruition of those changes...small as they may be...along with better timing and yes, more confidence.

How good he can or will be as a hitter is still TBD. He may yet be a .290-.300 hitter with 30HR power and an .840 OPS. Or he might "only" be a .270-.280 hitter with 25HR and a .780 OPS. But as young as he is, as good of an overall athlete that he is, as hard or a worker as he is, I've always felt he would get back on the right side of things eventually.

Who he is today might not be who he is next season. But I'm still betting he's going to be a really fine ML player, and big part of the Twins for the next few years, even if it turns out he's not going to be Superman.

If he could stay healthy Lewis could be a 900 plus OPS, possible triple crown winner and MVP.

Buxton could have also, had he stayed healthy during his prime. A pleasure to see him having a great year.

Both men deserve a tip of the hat for their perseverance through adversity.

The emotional wear of their injuries takes a toll.