Tom Froemming

He literally said he was terrified playing second base. How is that creating a false context?

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images Royce Lewis needs to accept that he’s owed nothing. The Twins have no reason to keep his path back to third base open. Lewis needs to be open-minded about playing other positions. In fact, he should probably pursue that, eagerly. Back in September 2024, Lewis was asked to play second base on occasion. He played there a couple of times. It didn’t go over well. At the time, Lewis questioned why he was playing second base and admitted he was “terrified’ out there. To refresh your memory, here’s a link to Gregg Masterson’s article that provided an overview of why the Twins tried Lewis at the keystone. To be fair to Lewis, it’s unusual to have a player suddenly mix in at another position late in the season. That’s especially true on a team that’s in a playoff race. But what about now? Another thing Lewis said back in 2024 about playing second base was “it's not Spring Training—or Triple A, for that matter.” Well, that’s no longer a sticking point. Now, that's exactly what "it" is. To be clear, there’s no indication that the Twins have approached Lewis about playing other positions yet. He’s played third base in all four of his games back with the Saints. However, both the team and the player should embrace the idea of expanding his positional flexibility. This demotion alone should be a wake-up call for Lewis, but that the Twins have also shifted Brooks Lee into his old position should be extra sobering. Nor is that a temporary thing. Derek Shelton said Lee is playing third base going forward, only making occasional cameos at shortstop. It’s not as if Lee is going to completely block Lewis, as he’s struggled himself, but why not open up other potential paths for Lewis? That’s right, paths, plural. I wouldn’t stop at just second base. Get him in at first base. Heck, put him back in the outfield. Sure, his ACL might explode again at any moment out there, but what’s left to protect? Back in 2024, Lewis was viewed as a potential franchise cornerstone, so it made sense to try to keep him comfortable and attempt to shield him from injury. He doesn’t get that benefit anymore. There are a lot of moving parts in the Twins' infield at the moment, and nobody is a lock. Even Luke Keaschall has struggled to the point where he may eventually join Lewis and Matt Wallner for a St. Paul refresh of his own. The veteran trio of Tristan Gray, Ryan Kreidler and Orlando Arcia have all played well to varying degrees, but they’re all better suited to be reserves than starters. Kaelen Culpepper is going to be the Twins' starting shortstop, sooner rather than later. That’s the only thing I feel confident enough to say about the infield right now. In addition to Lee already having been pushed off of shortstop, Culpepper’s arrival will move any of the Gray/Kreidler/Arcia class who are still around to play more second and third base. That’s a crowded infield picture, even before factoring in Lewis. The Twins need to keep their options open. Royce Lewis needs to keep an open mind. Otherwise, the end of this decade-old relationship between player and team might come pretty suddenly. View full article

Kaelen Culpepper exited Friday’s Saints game in the bottom of the first inning. While stealing second base, his helmet came off, bounced back, and hit him in the face. Culpepper’s lip was busted open, and the Saints' training staff couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. View full rumor

Twins prospect Gabriel Gonzalez has been called up and is making his Major League debut on Friday. Though he was off to a slow start in Triple-A, this opportunity presented itself with Tristan Gray being away from the team for a few days on paternity leave. Can Gonzalez take advantage? Here's a discussion on his game, how long he might be with the big club, and a couple of player comps. View full video

Twins System Recap: Quentin Young hit the ball harder than just about anybody in baseball early this week. Another guy blasting his way through is Billy Amick, who now has a system-leading 11 home runs. Also this week, Eli Jones impressed in his Double-A debut. Today's video features info on those players plus all the other top performers from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday's games. View full video

Today's video is a roundup of all this weekend's action across the system. Among the top performers were Zebby Matthews, Brandon Winokur, Dasan Hill, Matthew Dalquist, and Jaime Ferrer. View full video

Walker JenkinsKaelen CulpepperEmmanuel RodriguezEduardo TaitConnor PrielippDasan HillMarek HoustonRiley QuickKendry RojasCharlee SotoAndrew MorrisGabriel GonzalezBrandon WinokurHendry MendezRyan GallagherQuentin YoungJames EllwangerKyle DeBargeCJ CulpepperAdrian Bohorquez

Walker JenkinsKaelen CulpepperEmmanuel RodriguezEduardo TaitConnor PrielippDasan HillMarek HoustonRiley QuickKendry RojasCharlee SotoAndrew MorrisGabriel GonzalezBrandon WinokurHendry MendezRyan GallagherQuentin YoungJames EllwangerKyle DeBargeCJ CulpepperAdrian Bohorquez

Twins System Recap: It was a Wichita Homer Surge ... 10 home runs!?!?!?!? How is that even possible!? Garrett Spain hit three homers by himself, Billy Amick also had a mulit-homer game and you know Ricardo Olivar got one in. Olivar is now the system leader with 10 homers on the season, and is among the Double-A leaders, as well. View full video

Twins System Recap: Mom's letting the Saints stay up late this week. With St. Paul playing out west, tonight's video covers only the other three full-season affiliates. Tonight's discussion features an impressive all-around performance from Yasser Mercedes and plenty of discussion on the 2025 draft class. View full video

Twins System Recap: Well, this sucks. Both Joe Ryan and Walker Jenkins exited their games on Sunday due to injury. For Ryan, it's his elbow, which is obviously always spooky. For Jenkins, it was his shoulder as he crashed into the wall after making a great catch. Anyway, tonight's three stars are Ricardo Olivar, Quentin Young, and Justin Mitrovich. View full video

Before we turn the page to May, let's honor the Stars of the Month for March/April. The star hitter goes to Kaelen Culpepper of the Saints, and the star pitcher is Eli Jones of the Kernels. I wouldn't go with these two in a more traditional player/pitcher of the month voting, but that's the fun of having this star scoring system. Here's tonight's system recap, along with some info on the star scoreboard. View full video

Twins System Recap: Riley Quick made his first start since being promoted to Cedar Rapids and was every bit as dominant as he was in Fort Myers. After delivering four innings of one-hit, shutout ball while striking out five for the Kernels, Quick has a 0.00 ERA, 0.42 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts in 12 total innings with three walks. View full video

Twins System Recap: Both Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez slugged a pair of homers today for the Saints. Rodriguez has quite the feather in his cap now, hitting the hardest tracked ball in the minor leagues this season. Also tonight, Danny De Andrade hit a walk-off homer for the Kernels after Dasan Hill turned in an impressive start for Cedar Rapids. View full video