How the Minnesota Twins Can Help Royce Lewis Break Out of His Slump

Another nice article Cody.  Your solutions are practical.   I would suggest those same principles could apply to anyone in a slump.  Also I would think the Twins are doing this.  It's tough because they need him with Buxton and Correa out.  Buxton and Correa??  Do they still play for the Twins?

 Lewis normally is a discipline line-drive hitter. It seems that the last injury that Lewis suffered threw off his swing & he picked up some bad habits. Like he did early in his career he needs to find himself & his swing. When asked about moving to 2B he responded uncharacteristically unsure of himself. Maybe that's where he is right now. He's being tested & needs to find a way to maintain his swing. I'm sure it's frustrating for him. As always he'll come out on top.

Number one pick overall in 2017, hit some big home runs last season, and then began this season with flair only to get injured again. Royce Lewis has had difficulty playing baseball for extended periods of time. Whatever challenges are current will likely see his usage continue on the path used thus far this season, where Lewis is best utilized as a DH. The offseason is when Lewis will need to look at his body, approach, and strategies to go into 2025 as an every day player. I'm not expecting big things from Lewis and will be happy if he can play in 24 games to close this season and contribute. I'm a huge fan of Royce Lewis but he is 24 and has very little experience. What is the most consecutive full games for Royce thus far in his career?

I'm not to worried yet about Lewis  , what I'm worried about is the coaching staff screwing up Lewis ...

I think they need to stick him at a position like 3rd base and keep him there. No moving him around, except for DH days. Then get him continuous playing time so he can get himself into a groove. All the days off here and there, talk about moving him around the diamond looks to be throwing him off, so simplify it. Go out there at 3rd and play everyday. He'll break out of it, as long as he's healthy. I also think this isn't just Lewis but a whole team problem, it seems like everyone is so pull happy. Nobody tries to go oppo anymore. I don't think I've seen a hit to right field all year from Buxton. Getting back to using the whole field usually sparks a good hot hitting stretch. Would be nice to have our best players on the field for the most important games of the year, but that's a whole other discussion.

7 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

The talk about moving him to 2B, at some point, is 3-4 days old…….his struggles don’t stem from that discussion.

Agreed, Hit the ball the other way and quit trying to be a hero with a home run.

Quit swinging at first pitch breaking balls followed up by taking 2nd pitch fastballs. Look at the video of your last 50 AB’s.

He has a major problem with chasing pitches waaaay outside, then cannot catch up to the high fastball. Not every hit needs to be a home run. From what I've seen, when a guy starts getting hits the other way and up the middle, the home runs usually follow.

Needs to stop swinging for the downs every at bat.Talk to Jeffers about his 2 strike approach.

2 strike approach vs long ball happy approach is vital to being a balanced hitter.  2 Strike approach is lacking from him and he needs to adjust as he is in 2 strike mode more often these days.  1st pitch swinging at pitches in the zone don't help either.

Jeffers and others have adopted it, battle to stay alive in at bat and some times good things happen.  Not ideal to be in 2 strike hole in many at bats and others from what I can tell choke up a bit on the bat, look to put ball in play but others swing away.  

Consistency of staying healthy longer than a month at a time keeps you on the field and in form to produce.  Some guys aren't built for the DH position, Buxton being one of them.  At 24 years old, being relegated to DH to keep bat in lineup isn't ideal.

Has raw talent, has overcome injuries to get on the field.  Has to find a way to stay on the field

They could use some new staff PERIOD. There's a lot of wasted potential being squandered by bad hitting/base/pitching staff. 

Hide the levers. 

4 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

What should their record be? How many wins did you expect them to get this season?

If I told you Correa and Royce would play 75 games each, Buxton would play 90, and Joe Ryan would miss 2 months how many wins would you have predicted?

Royce, Correa, and Buck have only played 17 games together in 24. Other than these past 10 games, I’d say they’ve been playing pretty well.

5 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

I've tried it with my wife when she says I'm slumping around the house

The Black and White Security Camera in our bedroom recorded her reaction. 

You have a camera in your bedroom?  What is your day job?

The only one tha can  adjust Lewis , is Lewis.

The only problem with Lewis, is Lewis.

When I think of Royce Lewis I just wonder how he is handling everything that comes his way.

I don't know him and all the media portrays him as this hard working, fun loving, kind, humble, and determined super athlete.

He is 25 years old and has been injured quite often, which means his level of experience puts him back quite a bit. Yet, the expectations for Royce seem larger than reasonable.

Baseball is largely a game where one must contain one's thoughts and direct physical energy in a controlled fashion directed by the specific scenarios that unfold while playing a game. 

Lewis comes off as positive but how is he dealing with everything?