Time Is Running Out For Royce Lewis

[LyleCole]

Rebuild.   THere is no reason to keep Rodriguez and Culpepper in AAA.  In fact, there is no reason to keep Jenkins there either.  Call the entire lot of prospects up.  There isno chance of this team competing for anything, which was obvious to start the season.  

And, they should be pushing to find a trade partner for Byron Buxton, and perhaps Joe Ryan, and if there is any trade value to him, Bailey Ober.   There is no sense in keeping these guys around, and the prospects we get in trade for them should be paired with the internal prospects in the rebuild.  

 

[AceWrigley]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Why would a trip to the minors help? The only reason to do that would be to completely overhaul his swing. 

Exactly.

[bean5302]

First 12 games for Royce Lewis before IL 45PA .222/.378/.444 OPS .822 wRC+ 133 17.8% BB, 26.7% K, .273 BABIP

Next 11 games after his return 44PA .122/.159/.195 OPS .354 wRC+ (7) 2.3% BB, 34.1% K, .154 BABIP

Royce Lewis was hitting at an All Star level two weeks ago. Folks around here have their pitchforks flailing at everybody. Lewis is clearly hyper aggressive right now, and he has been since he came back up. He needs to settle down a bit.

Also, it's hack writing to be making definitive statements about defensive prowess based on 20 games for DRS/OAA. As I pointed out on another thread yesterday, the best defensive 2B in all of baseball by a substantial margin right now is Luis Arraez. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Do you know who has the highest OPS and highest batting average of any batter in St Paul? Royce Lewis.

Would you rather see Kreidler or Orlando Arcia?

I don't understand your point?

[darwin22]

3 hours ago, mickster said:

I do as well but have my doubts.   I would demote him and see how he handles it.   Twins will most likely then take him to arbitration and will win.

Absolutely agree that Lewis should be demoted. His reaction will be a telling sign of his commitment to his teammates and this organization.  I don't know the answer to that, but wonder IF this should happen does Lewis have the maturity and professionalism to handle it?  His persona...the infamous quote..": I don't do slumps" has sure seemed to boomerang on him.  In no way shape or form should management give up on him and grant him his release should he and his agent call for it.  He needs to take a step back and show some humility, which I doubt he's ever done.  Time to get to work Royce and take responsbility for your words and actions.

[mickster]

39 minutes ago, LyleCole said:

Rebuild.   THere is no reason to keep Rodriguez and Culpepper in AAA.  In fact, there is no reason to keep Jenkins there either.  Call the entire lot of prospects up.  There isno chance of this team competing for anything, which was obvious to start the season.  

And, they should be pushing to find a trade partner for Byron Buxton, and perhaps Joe Ryan, and if there is any trade value to him, Bailey Ober.   There is no sense in keeping these guys around, and the prospects we get in trade for them should be paired with the internal prospects in the rebuild.  

 

Jenkins is hurt, Culpepper is not close to being ready. Erod is the closest, but as the Four Seasons sang "See You in September"

[Danchat]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Why would a trip to the minors help? The only reason to do that would be to completely overhaul his swing. 

Culpepper is not impressing anyone so far. He’s hitting worse than Kreidler and Arcia.

Culpepper is doing fine for his first shot at AAA, "worse than Arcia/Kreidler" is true but doesn't accurately describe how he's hitting. .822 OPS ain't bad for a 23 year old. Gabriel Gonzalez is the one who is impressing nobody, hitting .188 BA / .241 OBP is rough.

[IndyTwinsFan]

3 hours ago, The123bigalguy said:

I have to agree with you. The decline is astonishing. Is it mental or physical? Or both? We had such high hopes. I’m still hoping he can figure it out.

Personally, my opinion is if he hasn't figured it out yet, it ain't gonna happen. 

Instead of progressing, he appears to be regressing.  Not a good sign at all.

[DJL44]

19 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I don't understand your point?

If you send down Lewis to AAA your only choice to replace him is someone worse than Royce Lewis.

[DJL44]

5 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Culpepper is doing fine for his first shot at AAA, "worse than Arcia/Kreidler" is true but doesn't accurately describe how he's hitting. .822 OPS ain't bad for a 23 year old. Gabriel Gonzalez is the one who is impressing nobody, hitting .188 BA / .241 OBP is rough.

822 OPS in AAA is not impressive. That says “do not promote”.

[HarmonK03]

They have no other options for Lewis other than Culpepper.  Gray and Kreidler looked ok in a very small sample size.  I am starting to have my doubts about Lewis but it did look like he was doing better before he went on the IL.  I don't think his defense is as bad as people on here say it is based on the eye test.  He made a nice play coming in on a ball with a nice throw last night.

Let him play this season on a regular basis and if he doesn't turn it around make a decision at the end of the season.  But have a suitable replacement ready, not another AAAA player.

[Wizard11]

Well we might as well add Julien and Wallner to the list of players Correa ruined.  Nothing but bad pull hitters now. Darn that Correa.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I believe I mocked another poster for suggesting moving Lee to third and bring up Culpeper to play short.

[KirbyDome89]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

First 12 games for Royce Lewis before IL 45PA .222/.378/.444 OPS .822 wRC+ 133 17.8% BB, 26.7% K, .273 BABIP

Next 11 games after his return 44PA .122/.159/.195 OPS .354 wRC+ (7) 2.3% BB, 34.1% K, .154 BABIP

Royce Lewis was hitting at an All Star level two weeks ago. Folks around here have their pitchforks flailing at everybody. Lewis is clearly hyper aggressive right now, and he has been since he came back up. He needs to settle down a bit.

Also, it's hack writing to be making definitive statements about defensive prowess based on 20 games for DRS/OAA. As I pointed out on another thread yesterday, the best defensive 2B in all of baseball by a substantial margin right now is Luis Arraez. 

.225/.280/.375 from the beginning of last year through today. I don't think it's only the last two weeks that has people concerned. 

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, darwin22 said:

Absolutely agree that Lewis should be demoted. His reaction will be a telling sign of his commitment to his teammates and this organization.  I don't know the answer to that, but wonder IF this should happen does Lewis have the maturity and professionalism to handle it?  His persona...the infamous quote..": I don't do slumps" has sure seemed to boomerang on him.  In no way shape or form should management give up on him and grant him his release should he and his agent call for it.  He needs to take a step back and show some humility, which I doubt he's ever done.  Time to get to work Royce and take responsbility for your words and actions.

Sure would send a signal to all the players with options.

You'd better hit a home run every single time you come to the plate or your job will be replaced by some AAAA journeyman hitting below the Mendoza line in St. Paul. It's a great message. The team has no faith in you and is not invested in you in any way.

[KirbyDome89]

41 minutes ago, karcherd said:

They have no other options for Lewis other than Culpepper.  Gray and Kreidler looked ok in a very small sample size.  I am starting to have my doubts about Lewis but it did look like he was doing better before he went on the IL.  I don't think his defense is as bad as people on here say it is based on the eye test.  He made a nice play coming in on a ball with a nice throw last night.

Let him play this season on a regular basis and if he doesn't turn it around make a decision at the end of the season.  But have a suitable replacement ready, not another AAAA player.

May 6th is too early to pull the plug, but his current output is unplayable. 

[tony&rodney]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Culpepper is not impressing anyone so far. He’s hitting worse than Kreidler and Arcia.

Curious if you have watched more than a few Saints games?

I watch most of the Saints games.

[KirbyDome89]

24 minutes ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

I believe I mocked another poster for suggesting moving Lee to third and bring up Culpeper to play short.

I don't think I'd give up on that opinion quite yet.

[tony&rodney]

The timing of the article is interesting. Lewis hit a timely sac fly last night and made a couple of decent plays in the field. 

Royce has been a darling of Twins fans. Despite the injuries, seldom do players get as long of a leash for playing time as Lewis has during the last three years. Tristan Gray, no HOF guy himself, must be a little jealous. Baseball is a game of overcoming failure and Lewis has fallen into such bad habits at the plate with his legs that he actually might be served best by a reset in Ft. Myers, followed by yet another trial run.

Linus (in his comments on page one) writes, more or less, how I have viewed Lewis for a couple of years. 

I do and have thought that Brooks Lee is suited for third base. Culpepper won't likely arrive before some time in June if he keeps progressing and displays enough skill to satisfy the Minnesota front office that he is ready to hold down shortstop.

Still a month before the Twins make a bunch of changes.

[HarmonK03]

13 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

May 6th is too early to pull the plug, but his current output is unplayable. 

You aren't going to get better production from Gray, Kredler or Arcia if they play every day.  

[KirbyDome89]

26 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Sure would send a signal to all the players with options.

You'd better hit a home run every single time you come to the plate or your job will be replaced by some AAAA journeyman hitting below the Mendoza line in St. Paul. It's a great message. The team has no faith in you and is not invested in you in any way.

I wouldn't send him down today, but if the team decided he needs a reset I certainly wouldn't see it as some egregious lack of faith or investment. Lewis hasn't even been a decent hitter since the 1st half of 2024, and even that was only 4ish weeks of good play. We're nearly two years removed from Royce Lewis hitting well, yet when healthy he's been a lineup fixture. That seems like pretty heavy investment/support to me. 

[KirbyDome89]

6 minutes ago, karcherd said:

You aren't going to get better production from Gray, Kredler or Arcia if they play every day.  

Maybe not, but you're not obligated to call up anyone from that trio either. 

[stringer bell]

Lewis seems to be fragile mentally. He would be a candidate for a heart-to-heart conversation with Shelton to get himself together. I think there is talent there and the last third of 2025 he showed improvement in the field and on the bases, although he didn't tear it up at the plate.

Maybe the solution is a trip across the Metro to St. Paul. He has options and his performance hasn't been of major league quality since he returned from the Injured List. 

[Fatbat]

The past 1.5 yrs has been a disaster. Royce is young enough to turn it around but he’s gonna get more bench time until he figures it out. KC is on a heater and will force the issue soon. 

[Otaknam]

This column is very fair and accurate. This is the third consecutive year Lewis has performed poorly offensively, in a position where solid offensive numbers are expected. It would not longer be a surprise if Culpepper is brought up to play shortstop and Lee moves to third, where his lack of speed won’t be as important. This assumes Lee continues to be successful offensively. Let’s see what Culpepper does offensively. It can’t be much worse than Lewis.

[USAFChief]

5 hours ago, bean5302 said:

First 12 games for Royce Lewis...

Also, it's hack writing to be making definitive statements about defensive prowess based on 20 games 

LOL.

In the same post no less.

[wornsmooth]

9 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

No its their rush to bring up players and play them out of position.   He injures himself playing outfield in a position he has rarely played.   He is your shortstop of the future and you complete derail it to try to get some short term gain.  Then whatever has been occurring with the advice on his plate discipline is beyond comprehension.  I truely think Correa got in his head just like Miranda.  Alas,  what could have been.  

Could not agree more regarding playing out of position.

Play one position. Concentrate on that and hitting.

[TheLeviathan]

Never had a man aged so hard, so fast, so young.

He looks as spry as a man three times his age.  I'm not sure how that reverses course.

[twinstalker]

If he had done better, we probably wouldn't trade him even though there's no way he would have signed an extension (Boras).  It just doesn't matter.  You can't hire Boras clients.  There's really no good result unless you get a great first 3-4 years from the player.  You can go the six years like we're doing with Jeffers, but you won't get anything in the end.*

*Trade Jeffers now.

[Parfigliano]

8 hours ago, Wizard11 said:

Well we might as well add Julien and Wallner to the list of players Correa ruined.  Nothing but bad pull hitters now. Darn that Correa.

Julien 107 OPS+ to end today.