What Does Royce Lewis Need to Improve at Triple-A?

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

The Minnesota Twins spent a long time trying to avoid this moment. They gave Royce Lewis every opportunity to work through his struggles at the major-league level because, for years, he looked like the type of talent worth waiting on. But eventually, potential stops mattering if the production never returns.

Now the former No. 1 overall pick is headed to Triple-A. The move feels shocking on the surface because Lewis has long been viewed as one of the organization’s foundational players. Yet, when you look at the bigger picture, this decision has been in the works for quite some time.

Lewis’s offensive struggles have spiraled to the point where the Twins could no longer justify keeping him in the lineup every day. His batting average has cratered to .163 with a .540 OPS, and the overall at-bat quality has become increasingly concerning. Sunday may have been the clearest example yet. Lewis struck out three times in a 0-for-3 performance before eventually being lifted for a pinch-hitter. 

The Twins have already shown they're willing to send struggling veterans to Triple-A this season, with Matt Wallner’s demotion just a few days before Lewis. Lewis simply reached the point where his name and pedigree could no longer outweigh the results.

What makes the situation more troubling is that this is no longer just a rough few weeks. For much of 2024, Lewis still looked like an emerging superstar whenever he was healthy enough to stay on the field. Around mid-August, his OPS remained north of 1.000, and injuries appeared to be the only obstacle standing in his way. Instead of building on that success, however, his performance completely collapsed over the final stretch of last year and never recovered.

Since mid-August 2024, Lewis has slashed .214/.268/.339 with a 68 wRC+, while striking out 157 times compared to only 47 walks across 179 games. Those numbers are no longer small-sample noise. They represent nearly a full season of offensive dysfunction. Even the underlying metrics offer little optimism. While some poor luck has contributed to the ugly batting average, Lewis still owns an expected batting average of only .205. The quality of contact simply has not been there.

More concerning than the results themselves is how Lewis has looked while producing them. At the plate, he appears caught between mechanics and reaction. His strikeout rate has climbed to a career-high 31.1%, and he is whiffing on 37.3% of his swings. Pitch recognition has become a major issue, particularly against velocity. Far too often, Lewis looks like he is guessing instead of reacting.

Fastballs used to be the pitch he punished. During his first two major league seasons, Lewis demolished fastballs to the tune of a .355 average and .711 slugging percentage. That ability helped fuel the belief that he could become one of baseball’s next young stars. Since then, the numbers have completely flipped.

During his electric rookie season, Lewis demolished four-seam fastballs to the tune of an .842 slugging percentage. Last season, that number cratered to .332, while his whiff rate against four-seamers climbed to 25.5%. The decline produced an -8 Run Value against fastballs and forced pitchers to attack him differently.

The problem has continued into 2026. Lewis currently owns just a .291 slugging percentage against four seamers, with a 34.1% whiff rate. Perhaps even more concerning, his pull percentage has dropped from 31.4% during his rookie campaign to 24.1% this season. The explosive damage on pitches he once turned around with authority has largely vanished.

That is a devastating development for any hitter, especially one whose game was built around elite bat speed and the ability to attack velocity. Part of the frustration for Minnesota is that Lewis spent the offseason attempting to fix these exact issues. One of the biggest storylines during spring training involved his work with new hitting coach Jeremy Isenhower, who came highly recommended by stars like Bobby Witt Jr. and former Twins infielder Jorge Polanco.

The goal of the mechanical changes centered around Lewis’s setup before the swing even began. The hope was that a more repeatable pre-swing position would improve his timing, pitch recognition, and overall swing decisions. Instead, the changes seem to have had the opposite effect. Lewis frequently looks uncomfortable in the box, late on velocity, and indecisive against secondary pitches.

That is why Triple-A matters right now. This demotion is not about punishment. It is about rebuilding a hitter who currently looks broken mechanically and mentally at the plate. The Twins need Lewis to simplify everything again.

At Triple-A, the focus has to start with attacking fastballs consistently. Lewis does not need to rediscover superstar production overnight, but he must prove he can get on time against velocity again. The swing decisions also need major improvement. Too often, Lewis expands the zone early in counts and then looks frozen once pitchers get ahead.

Minnesota will also likely want to see him establish a more consistent approach from game to game. Right now, every at-bat feels different. Sometimes he sells out for power. Other times, he appears purely defensive. The organization needs him to rediscover a stable offensive identity before bringing him back to the majors. That's why, as fun as his homer in his first game with the St. Paul Saints was, it's far from enough to get anyone actually dreaming of the player's return to Target Field.

There is also value in allowing Lewis to play every day without the pressure of carrying a struggling big-league offense. Triple-A gives him room to fail, adjust, and rebuild confidence in a lower-stakes environment.

The Twins are not giving up on Lewis. Players with his talent are not easily discarded. But they are finally acknowledging a reality that has become impossible to deny. Lewis has not looked like a productive major league hitter for a long time now. This reset was necessary. The next step is up to Lewis.

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What does Lewis need to focus on at Triple-A? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Whitey333]

The Twins were right in sending him down to St. Paul.  He has looked totally lost at the plate for a long time.  He needs to stay there for an extended period not for just a couple of weeks.  He seems to worry about his mechanics on each pitch.  Nothing seems smooth and natural.  Maybe he's got information overload from so many people telling him so many things, sometimes conflicting things.  Maybe he should ignore them all for a time and just be himself.  

[Parfigliano]

He needs to re-learn the strike zone, make contact, and not try to pull every pitch.  Does he know that hits to the right of CF count too?

[tony&rodney]

The swing, from a stable base (no dancing and shifting his feet) to a firm waistline that rotates smoothly (not bailing out) to working his hands directly through the ball (not yanking at pitches). That's it. A repeatable swing that takes the ball where it is pitched. Lewis needs to show that firm swing hundreds of times before the Twins consider bringing him back up. That could take two weeks or maybe he is done.

[Linus]

MLB is brutal on young players. As we’ve seen they can have immediate success but when the league sees them a few times and the book is out they can struggle mightily. Hence TKs quote about not knowing what you have, good or bad, until they have 1000-1500 at bats. With Royce being hurt so frequently it took him a while to accumulate the at bats. Teams definitely know how to pitch to him now. It’s up to him to adjust. I think it’s time to stop referring to Royce as having a lot of “talent” - I don’t think it’s true rather it’s a byproduct of him being drafted 1/1. 

[MinnInPa]

could be as simple as a lighter bat?? the guy cant make contact w a simple fastball. i just dont see a career saving turnaround.. let him figure it out in AAA for entire year.. my vote would be get Culpepper up here and see what he can do.. it cannot be worse

[SteveLV]

Hitting and fielding.

[Old Twins Hat]

Kind of a side topic, but that war paint he puts on his face, what is that about?

I know that some eye black helps deflect the sun but, Royce has taken that in a direction I've never seen, with decorative streaking that makes him look like a warrior.

Has he ever said anything about it?  Is it actually functional somehow or why do it like that?