Royce Lewis’ Reemerging Speed Could Unlock Another Level for Him in 2026

Sure stolen bases are nice, but the Twins need Royce to get his bat right first. If he's going to be our long term third baseman he needs to hit and hit for power.

Two straight seasons under a .300 OBP. I don't care that he's stealing more when he's on base as infrequently as he is. 

Lewis has had an interesting season to say the least, obviously he has not been a great hitter (.688 OPS) but is significantly better defensively and base running.

Still, Lewis should not and will not be a defense-speed player although he sure looks like Kebryan Hays this year.

 Would be running if he was actually hitting? 

8 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Two straight seasons under a .300 OBP. I don't care that he's stealing more when he's on base as infrequently as he is. 

It's definitely concerning how often Royce has been getting himself out the last 2 seasons. And even while finishing stronger this year, he's basically hacking at everything. he's got to find a more disciplined approach that keeps him from chasing, and start hammering fastballs again.

But hopefully the fact that he looks like he's got his legs back under him can help improve his base at the plate. He's doing well in the field, showing off very good range, and now he's running the bases better too. An off-season without needing surgery did wonders for Buxton, maybe it makes a difference for Royce too.

He's barely 26, but this is the healthiest season he's had since 2019 (aka, before the knee surgeries) and he's still not cracking 120 games. But if he can finish the season healthy, on a bit of an upswing, and a foundation to build on for next season...the talent is there.

He said in an interview he IS working hard on defense, that will keep him in the line-up more than his bat.

15 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

He's barely 26, but this is the healthiest season he's had since 2019 (aka, before the knee surgeries) and he's still not cracking 120 games. But if he can finish the season healthy, on a bit of an upswing, and a foundation to build on for next season...the talent is there.

He's 26, widely considered a player's peak age, has been and remained relatively healthy, and will finish the year as a massive disappointment with less than 1.5 WAR. 

Any belief he'll ever be a 2+ WAR player again is now wishful thinking instead of any sort of rational thought. I'm happy he's shown some improvement at 3B. But even so, looks like his peak is a .250/.300/.430 player with average defense. No longer looking like a building block but instead just a decent everyday guy or even a role player, a la Kody Clemens.

Every team can use a player like that so I'm not trying to **** on him too much. Just really sad at how his career has gone. 

2 minutes ago, gman said:

Since early June when Lewis got out of Spring Training mode, he has been hitting over 270 on a 30 homer 100 RBI pace. His OPS is around 777, that could be higher and he needs to walk more. Along with his stolen base rate, which I doubt he could keep up for a full season, he'd make a heck of a third baseman.

If we're gonna cherry pick, his last 200 PAs he's hit .233/.270/.397, that's a .667 OPS. 

He had a very good month of play in the middle of the season, but otherwise has been downright terrible since his June 17th, 2024. Even with that scorching hot month he's hit .227/.281/.387, a .668 OPS. since then over 658 PAs. 

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

He's 26, widely considered a player's peak age, has been and remained relatively healthy, and will finish the year as a massive disappointment with less than 1.5 WAR. 

Any belief he'll ever be a 2+ WAR player again is now wishful thinking instead of any sort of rational thought. I'm happy he's shown some improvement at 3B. But even so, looks like his peak is a .250/.300/.430 player with average defense. No longer looking like a building block but instead just a decent everyday guy or even a role player, a la Kody Clemens.

Every team can use a player like that so I'm not trying to **** on him too much. Just really sad at how his career has gone. 

Considering he's at 1.1 bWAR in a season where he's still not close to a full slate of games, I think 2+ bWAR is certainly still achievable even without returning to the all-star level hitting we saw prior to his knee exploding (again), especially with the defense looking stronger. A relatively modest improvement in his hitting and playing 120 games would get him there. But I do agree that counting on him to be a cornerstone with all-star upside is unrealistic. I'd love for it to happen, but until he actually shows he can be that kind of hitter again in a full season, planning for it sets you up for failure.

But with the Twins struggling so much to even get 4-5 guys who can be 2+ bWAR players in the lineup, If Royce gets back there it'd make a real difference in raising the floor. After Buxton and Keaschall the next most likely players to put up a bWAR of 2 or better are Austin Martin (which does require some projection), Jeffers or Wallner (requiring a return to form, but at least they've done it in '23 & '24), or a group of rookies who haven't done anything at all yet (Jenkins, Rodriguez, Fedko, or Gonzalez all could do it...but that's asking a lot for rookies)

Can't really bet on it from Roden, Lee (who I still think can be better, but I will admit to possibly fooling myself), Outman (blech), Larnach (if he's even here), or even Clemens (who in a career season at age 29 is still only a touch ahead of Royce).

Boy the lineup really let the team down this season. probably why we're looking for hope inside of Royce.

2 hours ago, gman said:

Since early June when Lewis got out of Spring Training mode, he has been hitting over 270 on a 30 homer 100 RBI pace. His OPS is around 777, that could be higher and he needs to walk more. Along with his stolen base rate, which I doubt he could keep up for a full season, he'd make a heck of a third baseman.

Isn't that what others said about Wallner the last two years. Projections are nice, but actual stats are what matters.

3 hours ago, NYCTK said:

He's 26, widely considered a player's peak age, has been and remained relatively healthy, and will finish the year as a massive disappointment with less than 1.5 WAR. 

Any belief he'll ever be a 2+ WAR player again is now wishful thinking instead of any sort of rational thought. I'm happy he's shown some improvement at 3B. But even so, looks like his peak is a .250/.300/.430 player with average defense. No longer looking like a building block but instead just a decent everyday guy or even a role player, a la Kody Clemens.

Every team can use a player like that so I'm not trying to **** on him too much. Just really sad at how his career has gone. 

This is another player that you might as well play until you have someone else who beats him out for a spot.

The Twins will want to hold on to Royce Lewis because they picked him #1-1 in the 2017 draft. The club should be open to conversations from other teams, however, if there are reasonable offers that would benefit the Twins club.

Either way, the increase in speed and a small improvement in defense is hopeful for a better performance going forward for Lewis. Currently, Lewis sells out to pull most pitches which leaves him very susceptible to failure versus good pitchers.

I'm hoping Royce has a great offseason and returns fully healthy and ready to fulfill his potential in 2026.

Lewis will most likely never get back to the player he was in 2023. If he does however turn into a decent power-speed threat that would still be nice. If he goes 20-15 in 2026 that should be considered a success. I don't know how much he will continue to run next year, but he does seem to be a lot healthier and it shows with his speed.

Lewis needs to learn how to hit a sweeper first. He also seems out of balance most of the time as he tries to to pull everything, which leads to missing a sweeper by six inches or more.

I will agree with those who say it's at a minimum "encouraging" to see him running better and with confidence.  When he was barely jogging to first base after hitting infield grounders I wondered why they even had him out there.

If you can't play the game to the fullest, are you hurting the team?  Or if there is nobody close to you in talent, are you doing what you can for the team by playing through it?  That's always a hard question to answer and I believe it's different for every player.

He had bulked up too much and it was messing with his entire body.  Guys don't have to be body builders to be good baseball players.  He is just 26 years old.  He could still become a cornerstone player.  He could be off the team in 2 years.  He does swing at everything.  A sweeper down and away is his kryptonite.  

On the Twins right now I would listen on a trade for any player except Walker Jenkins.  The Twins don't have an untouchable like Anthony Edwards or Justin Jefferson.  But to trade Royce Lewis would be selling low.  He needs a healthy off season and a fresh start coming into spring training.  I'm not going to get my hopes up too high, but I'm cautiously optimistic for Lewis regarding 2026.  It could very well decide whether he's here in 2027, or elsewhere.

Good health, especially with his lower body, should help him find a better "base" as many have already mentioned and it could be a huge benefit for him going forward.  Having better plate discipline is the next step.  He will probably never be the superstar we all envisioned after his tremendous playoff performance in 2023, but he could become a solid middle of the order bat for future Twins teams.  

33 minutes ago, Otaknam said:

Lewis needs to learn how to hit a sweeper first. He also seems out of balance most of the time as he tries to to pull everything, which leads to missing a sweeper by six inches or more.

Agreed.  Watching him hack especially with anything outside edge or wider, he conjures up painful memories of me trying to learn "The Hustle" back in the disco era.

AND- he needs to move to 1st, Lee sliding over to 3rd.  And cover SS with Fitzy or whomever until Culpepper gets here.  Hurry up, young man!

Now, if he’d quit trying to pull everything, and get back to the hitter he was, we’d be in business.

3 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Now, if he’d quit trying to pull everything, and get back to the hitter he was, we’d be in business.

All the early rah, rah, rah for his home runs has him wanting that recognition again.

I am sure he was worried about pulling his hamstring again early when he came back.  I think that affected not only his running but his hitting as well.  If you do not have your legs hitting you have nothing. 

His defense has been pretty good this season. Throw out his horrible April and he's had an okay year. Not the All-Star we hoped for with a 1-1 pick but a decent major leaguer.