Royce Lewis:

Perseverance to Power

By: Michael A. Chase Jr.

09/09/2023

When a player is highly regarded as an amateur, taken at the top of the draft board, and then considered a top 10 prospect in the sport, success would be seen as mostly a guarantee for that player. When injuries come about early in these players' professional careers though, it can derail a lot of this optimism. Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis has experience in both areas in his very young MLB career. A player who has persevered through multiple setbacks to become a difference-maker for a playoff-hopeful Twins team.

Royce Lewis was a player with many expectations going back to his high school career at JSerra Catholic High School. He was not only named the LA Times high school baseball player of the year as a junior, but he won MVP of both the Under Armor All-American Game and Perfect Game All-American Classic and was named California Baseball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017 as a senior. That year he hit an impressive .377 with four home runs and 25 stolen bases. He did commit to play at the University of California, Irvine originally but because of his high draft projections, he decided to start his pro career.

Lewis ended up being drafted 1st overall in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Minnesota Twins as a shortstop. There was much hype around this young man as he was ranked the 10th-best prospect in baseball the following year. Then followed that up by rising to being the 5th ranked prospect in the MLB in 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his minor league season in 2020 was wiped out, taking away a very valuable developmental year from Lewis. Then further adversity in his path to the majors came his way in the form of serious knee injuries.

In February 2021 Lewis would end up tearing his ACL and miss the entire 2021 season, meaning for the second straight year Lewis would miss out on valuable development time. So, the focus shifted to preparing to in a way restart his minor league career in 2022. He ended up coming back in 2022 and showcasing the tools that made him a top prospect in baseball. He played in 34 games hitting .313 with 5 home runs and 18 RBI and was seemingly building buzz within the organization. This buzz reached a head when he was called up and made his MLB Debut on May 6th of that year. He played in 12 games while hitting .300 and things seemed on the up-and-up, however, the injury gods once again came into play as his promising season was cut short due to tearing his ACL for the second straight in the same knee as the year before. A quick and familiar setback that would prevent him from truly establishing his name in the Twins franchise plans. After another long year of recovery, Royce Lewis would return to the field at the minor league level on the same date a year to the same day he suffered the ACL tear. Now in 2023, he is finally getting the chance to showcase the talent that made him a former #1 overall draft pick and making history while doing it.

On the year Lewis is hitting .320 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI in 47 games this season. He has displayed far more power immediately upon getting consistent playing time compared to his minor league track record. His career high in home runs in the minors was 14 in 2018, hitting 41 overall over 4 minor league seasons. But now fully healthy he has become an impactful player in the Twins' everyday lineup, especially in the power department. He has collected at least one hit in 16 of his last 21 games, which includes 7 of his 11 home runs. He also has made history through this recent stretch thanks to his affinity for hitting grand slams. With his Grand Slam September 4th against the Cleveland Indians that was the 4th of his career, meaning it took him 56 games to reach four career Grand Slams the fewest for a hitter in MLB history. This was also his 3rd Grand Slam during an eight-game span becoming the fourth player in MLB history and first rookie to accomplish this feat. Plus, the fun fact about this is that 3 of his 4 career slams have come against division rival Cleveland is interesting as well. For a Twins team firmly in the race for an AL Central Division title and playoff berth, this elite production from such a young player has been invaluable.

Royce Lewis as he continues to play third base for the Minnesota Twins is a great example of persevering through obstacles to achieve one's dream. From missing a year of minor league development due to COVID-19, to tearing his ACL two years in a row he has seen much adversity. Now this young man is not only finally healthy but excelling at the big-league level as a crucial piece for a playoff hopeful. It will be great to see how he further impacts the Twins on the field, but he certainly has had a "Grand" impact this season already.