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Third base is a tough position. It has a high offensive standard but also a considerable degree of defensive difficulty, requiring springy athleticism, quick reflexes and a strong arm. Players who can field the position well and produce at the plate – often former shortstops – are highly valued, and represent some of the league's biggest stars, from Jose Ramirez to Austin Riley, Alex Bregman, Manny Machado and beyond.
Following an arduous journey for their former No. 1 overall pick, the Twins hope they now have a player capable of ranking among these heavyweights. Their true ceiling as a team this year largely hinges on it.
TWINS THIRD BASEMEN AT A GLANCE
Starter: Royce Lewis
Backup: Kyle Farmer
Depth: Willi Castro, José Miranda, Austin Martin
Prospects: Brooks Lee, Danny De Andrade, Tanner Schobel
Twins fWAR Ranking Last Year: 10th out of 30
Twins fWAR Projection This Year: 6th out of 30
THE GOOD
It took a little longer than everyone hoped, but Lewis has finally arrived, looking very much like the franchise centerpiece that Minnesota envisioned when they drafted him first overall seven years ago. Well, maybe not specifically what they envisioned; the ultra-athletic Lewis always flashed star potential, but back when he was a wiry teenage shortstop with blazing speed we might not have pictured him as a buffed up slugger with 40-HR power.
Since being drafted, Lewis has lost a bit of his high-end speed while maturing physically and enduring multiple major knee injuries. But he's still pretty fast, and he's added enough power to swap that in as a top-shelf skill. In just 70 big-league games, the 24-year-old has launched 17 home runs (including five grand slams) and slugged .549. That's not including the four postseason bombs that legitimized his breakout on the national stage.
Despite his relatively small sample of play in recent years, Lewis's performance in 2023 was convincing for all who witnessed. MLB Network now has him ranked as a top 100 player in the game. Vegas has him on par with the likes of Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien and Jose Altuve in terms of MVP odds. The typically conservative FanGraphs system projects a 4-WAR season, which is All-Star level.
Lewis was solid defensively in his first go at third base, and it should be noted: this really was his first go. Although he played some third in high school, Lewis had barely fielded the position in the minors before being thrust into it full-time as a big-league rookie. With experience under his belt and a full spring to sharpen up, I wouldn't be surprised to see the former shortstop elevate his defensive impact significantly at the hot corner.
THE BAD
Even if he continues to be a great player, and maybe even the team's best player, fans should brace for some level of regression following the ridiculous run we saw from Lewis last year. His .393 wOBA would've ranked ninth among qualified big-leaguers, between Juan Soto and Bryce Harper – an awfully high bar for his first full season. With that said, Lewis's name hardy feels out of place being mentioned alongside those greats, which says a lot. His emphatic showing last year erased almost all doubt regarding his ability.
Availability, on the other hand, remains a question mark. His arrival in the majors was sidetracked by back-to-back ACL tears. Even after making his triumphant return last year, the third baseman was plagued by soft-tissue injuries, to the point where he nearly had to sit out the playoffs.
All signs are positive health-wise in early spring, but the Twins have been conditioned to plan for the possibility of life without Lewis. In the event he becomes unavailable, third base loses much of its luster for the club, with Farmer and Castro as the veteran backups and Lee as the possible solution in a long-term scenario.
Having a top prospect on deck as a fallback, in the event of another lengthy absence from Lewis, is a pretty good place to be. But as mentioned in the second base preview, expectations for Lee should be kept in check as a rookie.
One wild-card in the deck here is Miranda. He was the team's Opening Day starter at third last year, but now his viability at the position feels very much in question. His defensive chops at third were never considered strong, and last year Miranda looked especially rough before he was shut down, but who knows how much the shoulder injury factored into that. If Lewis gets sidelined early in the season, and Alex Kirilloff and Carlos Santana are holding it down at first, Miranda could get one more chance to step back in at the hot corner.
We'll need to see Miranda get any kind of action defensively this spring before that possibility comes into play, however. He continues to be limited to DH duty for now.
THE BOTTOM LINE
An intermingling of top prospects past and present, with Royce Lewis supplanting José Miranda and diverting the path of Brooks Lee. If Lewis gets sidelined again, Miranda is in the mix with Farmer, Castro and others as a short-term fill-in, with Lee lined up as a longer-term replacement if needed.
There are contingencies in place should something go amiss with Lewis, but the team's potential really depends on him continuing to feature as the heart of the lineup as he did last season and in the playoffs. Now that he's finally entering a season healthy and experiencing a normal big-league camp, it really feels like the sky is the limit for Lewis and the Twins at third base.
Catch up on the rest of our position-by-position preview series:
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