Royce Lewis Needs to Have an Open Mind

[NYCTK]

37 minutes ago, karcherd said:

But yet in the offseason after that year, he did work on defense on 2B.  That part seems to be neglected.  So maybe it was the timing of trying to make the move.

Great. A baseball player was willing to practice. Let's build the statue. 

If your company is up against a deadline and your boss asks you to do something you either do it, or you face the repercussions. Royce is facing the repercussions in the form of rightful fan scorn. 

[farmerguychris]

1 hour ago, twinfan said:

Sorry but looking at the history and feeling about both first base and third base I don't see Lee playing either. He hits in streaks but doesn't even have 20 home run power which is what most players at those positions have. Second or short is more suited for him. Lewis could return at third sometime this season but maybe the Twins need to move on from him if his attitude is that poor. In his defense, if he had never played second before, then asking him to move there as a young player in the middle of a season was a dumb move.

Based on his history - he absolutely has 30 home run power.  He just needs to get his mind to align with his physical skills (if he still has them).  

Do the Twins have a psychologist that can work with him?  

[mnfireman]

21 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Lewis most certainly does have 20 homer power; even with his slumps his 162 game average for his career is 27 homers. He's just never been healthy enough to get in enough games...

I think the OP was referring to Lee...

[RpR]

1 hour ago, karcherd said:

How many AB's do you want to give away in one game.  Gray and Kreidler are not going to consistently give you good AB's.  Arcia will come back to earth but at least he has a track record of being competent.  Bell and Caratini are doing nothing at the plate.  You would have a whole infield contributing next to nothing at the plate.  Yes you need defense but not at the complete expense of the offense.

 

How many runs do you want to give away with gaping holes in the defense?

[RpR]

51 minutes ago, karcherd said:

But yet in the offseason after that year, he did work on defense on 2B.  That part seems to be neglected.  So maybe it was the timing of trying to make the move.

How did that turn out?

Another Julien?

[nicksaviking]

12 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Great. A baseball player was willing to practice. Let's build the statue. 

If your company is up against a deadline and your boss asks you to do something you either do it, or you face the repercussions. Royce is facing the repercussions in the form of rightful fan scorn. 

It's the same boss that for seven years habitually failed to transition top offensive prospects to capable MLB players. 

Lewis handled it poorly, (by not keeping his objections private) but just about EVERYBODY was saying Baldelli needed to go. I wouldn't have trusted his, or any of his coaches advice on mechanics or swing changes either. Particularly after Lewis saw pretty much all of his friends and teammates he came up with fade into oblivion under the same sage advice.

[RpR]

 

The Chances of a Drafted Baseball Player Making the Major Leagues: A Quantitative Study

https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-chances-of-a-drafted-baseball-player-making-the-major-leagues-a-quantitative-study/

For those who think Lewis' probable failure is an oddity.

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Im not counting on Lee here at all. To this point he has shown me he has the ability to be a mediocre infield utility guy. He's bad at SS. IMO hes stretched at 3B. Maybe 2B is his home? He doesnt hit enough to be 1B. 

Which, to me, absolutely leaves the door open for Lewis. However, I completely agree with the article. He is owed nothing. I liked him in the outfield. But I'd like him to get a 1B glove too. See where he's best because 3B ain't it. IIRC him and Keaschall lead the team in Errors. 

Speaking of Keaschall, he's another one I feel needs to switch positions. He has not been good at 2B. He might need to look at the outfield. I think his speed will play well out there. I think his bat will come around. 

Do my opinions leave holes in the infield? Yes. Mostly because I dont believe we have the right players on the team yet. Sounds like Culpepper should stick at SS defensively from the reports here at TD. Atleast until Houston makes it up. Then we'll have Kaelen at 3B. Houston at SS. Lee at 2B? Royce at 1B if he can fix himself? 

Yes, some of these guys can grow and develop, they are younger. But that doesnt mean they will and im basing my opinions on what they've achieved so far. 

[wornsmooth]

I think some of the problems the Twins have had with both their team defense and their inability to develop hitters is their constant tinkering with the positions that the players are expected to master.

Today you play shortstop. Ok, tomorrow second day base.

And so on. How can you concentrate oIn hitting when you are also trying to learn a different position?

How can you ever master one fielding position when you are constantly being moved around?

Management acts like the players are interchangeable.

 

[NYCTK]

50 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Lewis handled it poorly, (by not keeping his objections private)

There really was no need to continue typing after this. 

Royce had a bad coach or bad coaching? Who can say since he very publicly rejected it? Seems like he's entirely to blame then for the fact he's now a replacement level player that no one really likes. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

42 minutes ago, RpR said:

 

The Chances of a Drafted Baseball Player Making the Major Leagues: A Quantitative Study

https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-chances-of-a-drafted-baseball-player-making-the-major-leagues-a-quantitative-study/

For those who think Lewis' probable failure is an oddity.

So making it to the majors is difficult. . .. who knew?!?  Seriously, this does really underscore the major differences between the MLB draft and the drafts in the other major sports.  Even fantastic college players sometimes don’t make it. Actually, Royce has played in 5 seasons (with approximately two full seasons of at bats), so he already has “made it” according to this study.  

What I think confuses people is that Royce Lewis had “a moment” where he was absolutely awesome (also unsustainably awesome) and fans fell in love with that version of him.  Now, the shine has tarnished and he doesn’t look like he’s prepared to restore the shine, so people are lashing out about it.  Do the Twins have some fault?  Certainly.  Maybe they should have drafted someone else. Do the coaches have some fault?  Probably some, but it’s not like they were trying to prevent him from succeeding.  Does Royce Lewis have some fault?  Of course he does, because ultimately one’s performance comes down to the individual involved.  Can this be fixed?  Nothing is totally impossible, but it is probably looking unlikely that Lewis will return to being “that guy” from his early career.  AND if he really wants to find his way back to the Twins, it would be idiotic for him to declare third base or bust.  I don’t really think he’ll quite do that, but his lack of enthusiasm for flexibility doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.  

[LA Vikes Fan]

Wow, lots of vitriol here. This article accurately points out one of the issues facing the Twins in the next couple of years - can you play Lewis, Lee and Keaschall in the IF when none of them can play SS? For right now, at least 2 of them can't hit so it's not a big issue but one hopes this becomes a big issue soon because they are all hitting and need to be in the lineup. We need all 3 to hit at the big-league level for the team to be good in next couple of years. There's unlikely to be room in the OF for any of them with Martin's emergence and Emma, Jenkins, GG, Roden, and Fedko all waiting in the wings. I think it's infield, DH, or bust for all three. I don't think the utility infielder role is really a great spot for any amount. Besides, Kreidler looks like the utility IF for now, if not the starting SS with Arcia as the IF UTL.

I think one of the 3 needs to learn to play 1B. That spot will be open by 2028 for sure (Clemens is already 30 and frankly, he's decent but not great), and probably in 2027. Lewis is at AAA so it would be nice to see him try 1B now. Having said that, it may make the most sense long-term to transfer Keaschall there since he seems to be the worst defensive infielder of the three, but if that happens then either Lee or Lewis needs to learn to play 2B. Both have tried and neither it looked very good there, while Lee actually looks pretty good at 3B since moving there. Lewis at first base looks more like the long-term play.

[Trov]

It does not matter where he is playing on defense, he needs to get back to the hitter we all thought he would be after his early seasons.  Without that he is unplayable at any position. 

[Patzky]

2 hours ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

I disagree with you about Kreidler, and maybe Gray, too. I believe in Keaschall's bat long-term, but he's still in a tough adjustment phase. I don't think Lee is ever going to be a consistently average-plus hitter. I think the far superior defense should be plenty of motivation for them to keep using Kreidler and Gray in all advantageous matchups (Kreidler every day, Gray against all righties) for a while, to find out what they have there. I'm fine with letting Arcia ride the bench, mostly, but if he keeps hitting like this, you might need to fit him in for OFFENSIVE purposes—and he's certainly a better defender than Keaschall at second, anyway.

Kriedler in the OF to spell Larnach or Martin, instead of Clemens, allows Clemens at first and Bell at DH or to sit.

[TJSweens]

2 hours ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

Boy, I just don't see what you're seeing in what Tom wrote. It seems like a very clear-eyed, even-handed take on a player in a very real career crisis! You're sort of acting like Tom is making up the major climb that now lies before Royce, but look at this more reasonably.

1. Lewis has been an atrocious hitter for the last 21 months now, going all the way to August 2024.
2. Lee isn't a viable shortstop, but he's hitting enough that they need to keep giving him some chance to show whether he can stick. Third base is probably his best spot.
3. The team sent Lewis down and installed Lee at his old position! This isn't some flight of fancy; it's what the actual big-league team just did.

I think you've gotta grapple with reality a little more here. Royce doesn't have a clear path back to the majors and his most likely one is not as the everyday third baseman. He needs versatility, or a new defensive home where he fits better into someone's plans, even if it's not the Twins'. I don't think any other org is out there hoping to pounce on him for a full-time job at third, either.

You assume Lee will work out long term as an every day 3B. I have my doubts. If Royce regains his early stroke, Lee won't be much of an obstacle. 

[RpR]

3 minutes ago, TJSweens said:

You assume Lee will work out long term as an every day 3B. I have my doubts. If Royce regains his early stroke, Lee won't be much of an obstacle. 

Lee is and pretty much always has been better at Third Base than Lewis.

So many speak here about Lewis at First Base, I wonder why they do not try him there with Saints?

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

There really was no need to continue typing after this. 

Royce had a bad coach or bad coaching? Who can say since he very publicly rejected it? Seems like he's entirely to blame then for the fact he's now a replacement level player that no one really likes. 

No, his comments may be to blame for why people don't like him (but sure seemed plenty didn't like him prior to that). But I don't know how anyone can definitively say he's solely to blame for his lack of development, when 90% of the fans were saying Rocco Baldelli wasn't a good coach for the past several years. 24-year-olds barely know how to do their own laundry, but they're supposed to understand how to adjust their swing plans, understand pitch sequencing and all the other minutia that comes with being a 21st Century MLB hitter?

[NYCTK]

6 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

No, his comments may be to blame for why people don't like him (but sure seemed plenty didn't like him prior to that). But I don't know how anyone can definitively say he's solely to blame for his lack of development, when 90% of the fans were saying Rocco Baldelli wasn't a good coach for the past several years. 24-year-olds barely know how to do their own laundry, but they're supposed to understand how to adjust their swing plans, understand pitch sequencing and all the other minutia that comes with being a 21st Century MLB hitter?

He made public comments rejecting the Baldelli regime, sure fine. He sucked under it, maybe the management style didn't work for his specific personality. It happens. 

But guess what? He went off, got his own hitting coach and new manager, and now he sucks even more than before. 

Who else are we supposed to blame? Is it Baldelli's fault that Wallner sucks this year too? 

[Woof Bronzer]

9 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

No, his comments may be to blame for why people don't like him (but sure seemed plenty didn't like him prior to that). But I don't know how anyone can definitively say he's solely to blame for his lack of development, when 90% of the fans were saying Rocco Baldelli wasn't a good coach for the past several years. 24-year-olds barely know how to do their own laundry, but they're supposed to understand how to adjust their swing plans, understand pitch sequencing and all the other minutia that comes with being a 21st Century MLB hitter?

I think the problems with this argument are 1) Royce was significantly worse under Shelton and 2) he may well have received that kind of coaching under the previous regime.  Which is course is why his past comments are relevant.  If he was that resistant to a position change maybe he was resistant to coaching too.