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It was hard to know what to expect from Royce Lewis during his rookie season. The former number-one overall pick missed parts of two seasons following ACL surgery, and the pandemic took away an entire minor league season. These speed bumps meant Lewis missed significant development time, which can be essential for a prospect to fulfill their full potential. Lewis didn’t seem to miss a beat by hitting .309/.372/.548 (.921) with 15 home runs and seven doubles in 58 games. He became a grand slam machine during the regular season, and his strong performance carried over into October.
The Twins won their first playoff series since 2002, and Lewis was at the heart of the victories. He hit four home runs in six playoff games, including critical homers in the series against Toronto. Overall, he went 5-for-22 with four homers and six runs scored. It was an impressive performance from the rookie, but there are still areas where he can improve from 2024 and beyond.
Strikeout-to-Walk Rate
Lewis’ strikeout-to-walk rate was one area for him to improve after returning to the big-league level. He struck out 28 times and earned three walks in 99 plate appearances before going on the IL at the beginning of July (26 games). Following his return, he saw minor improvements in both areas. In 140 plate appearances (32 games), he struck out 27 times and was awarded 17 walks. He certainly seemed like a more patient hitter, which helped him to get into more favorable counts and improve his overall numbers. Lewis has shown improved power numbers, which typically comes with a higher strikeout rate, so it will be interesting to track if his walk rate improves with more time at the big-league level.
Defense
The Twins shifted Lewis to third base because the team has Carlos Correa, a Gold Glove finalist, locked into shortstop for the foreseeable future. During his minor league career, he had only made ten starts at third base and played fewer than 80 innings at the position. Everything wasn’t perfect in his transition to the hot corner, and it seems likely for him to improve as he gets more repetitions at his new positions. There is also a chance the Twins have him move to another spot on the diamond, especially with other prospects getting closer to the big leagues, including Brooks Lee and Austin Martin. Lewis is athletic enough to thrive at any defensive position, especially since he isn’t spending this off-season rehabbing a knee injury.
Sprint Speed
When the Twins drafted Lewis, some evaluators compared his speed tool to some of baseball’s best players. After two knee surgeries, Lewis has lost a step, with his sprint speed ranking in the 73rd percentile. There is potential for him to regain some of that speed as he gets further removed from his knee issues, but he has also added muscle during his rehab process. Minnesota was one of the worst base running teams during the first half of last season, and Lewis can help remedy some of the team’s flaws in this area. One way he can get more stolen base opportunities is if his walk rate continues to improve, so he gets more opportunities to be at first base. He went six-for-seven in stolen base attempts this season, and the Twins might let him run wild next year.
Twins fans have already started getting excited about Lewis, and his future can be even brighter if he takes the next step. Where does Lewis need to improve the most? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.
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