Royce Lewis

Royce Lewis
Lewis with the St. Paul Saints in 2022
Minnesota Twins – No. 23
Third baseman
Born: (1999-06-05) June 5, 1999 (age 24)
Aliso Viejo, California, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 6, 2022, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
(through March 28, 2024)
Batting average.313
Home runs18
Runs batted in58
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
15U Baseball World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2014 Mazatlán Team

Royce Oliver Lewis (born June 5, 1999) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Twins first overall in the 2017 MLB draft. Lewis made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

Lewis attended JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California. As a junior, he was the Los Angeles Times high school baseball player of the year after hitting .429 with four home runs.[1] In summer 2016, he played in the Under Armour All-American Game at Wrigley Field and the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park, and was named MVP of both games.[2][3] Lewis played mostly third base and outfield his first three years of high school before moving to shortstop for his senior year.[4]

Lewis was considered one of the top prospects for the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[5] He committed to the University of California, Irvine to play college baseball.[6] He was named California's Baseball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017 after batting .377 with four home runs and 25 stolen bases as a senior.[7]

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Minnesota Twins selected Lewis with the first overall selection of the 2017 draft.[8] The Twins announced his signing on June 17,[9] and Lewis made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Twins of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League on June 26. On August 12, Lewis was promoted to the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Single-A Midwest League. He finished 2017 with a combined .279 batting average, four home runs, 27 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases in 54 games between both clubs.[10] Lewis began the 2018 season with Cedar Rapids.[11] In 75 games for Cedar Rapids, he batted .315 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs along with fifty runs scored and 22 stolen bases.[12]

On July 14, 2018, Lewis was promoted to the Fort Myers Miracle of the High-A Florida State League.[13] On July 26, 2018 MLB.com ranked Lewis as the 10th best prospect in baseball.[14] Lewis ended his stint in Fort Myers batting .255 with five home runs and 21 RBIs in 46 games.[15] Following the 2018 season, Lewis was named to the Midwest League postseason all-star team along with teammate Alex Kirilloff. Lewis was also named the MVP of the Midwest League.[16]

The Twins invited Lewis to spring training as a non-roster player in 2019.[17] He returned to Fort Myers to begin the 2019 season.[18] He was ranked the fifth-best prospect by MLB.com at the beginning of the 2019 season.[19] Lewis was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game.[20] In July, he was promoted to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Double-A Southern League. Over 127 games between the two clubs, he slashed .236/.290/.371 with 12 home runs, 49 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases.[21] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Salt River Rafters following the season.[22] Lewis was named the 2019 Arizona Fall League MVP.[23] Lewis did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]

On February 24, 2021, Lewis was diagnosed with an torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee and had surgery set for February 26. The injury required nine months of recovery, causing Lewis to miss the 2021 season.[25] He was selected to the 40-man roster following the season.[26]

Major leagues

Lewis made his MLB debut for the Twins on May 6, 2022. On May 13, Lewis hit his first career home run, a grand slam off of Cleveland Guardians reliever Bryan Shaw. He became the second player in Twins history to hit a grand slam for his first career home run, joining Danny Valencia.[27] Lewis appeared in 12 games for Minnesota, batting .300/.317/.550 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. On May 29, Lewis re-tore the ACL in his right knee. Lewis elected to undergo season-ending surgery to repair the injury.[28]

On May 29, 2023, Lewis was activated from the injured list and made his season debut as the starting third baseman.[29] He became the first Twins player to hit a grand slam in two consecutive games on August 28.[30][31] On September 4, he tied the Twins franchise record with his third grand slam of the season.[32][33][34] His fourth grand slam on September 15 set the new franchise record.[35] Lewis went on the injured list on September 22, ending his regular season. In 18 games, Lewis slashed .313/.410/.612 with six home runs and 23 RBIs. He was named the AL Rookie of the Month.[36]

The Twins activated Lewis for Game 1 of the 2023 AL Wild Card Series. Lewis hit home runs in his first two at bats.[37] He hit his fourth home run of the postseason in Game 4 of the 2023 ALDS, tying Kirby Puckett for the most home runs in one postseason for the Twins.[38]

On Opening Day of the 2024 season, Lewis strained a quadricep, and went on the injured list on March 30.[39]

References

  1. ^ "Royce Lewis of JSerra is the L.A. Times high school baseball player of the year". June 11, 2016 – via LA Times.
  2. ^ "TRINITY LEAGUE ATHLETE PROFILE: JSERRA'S ROYCE LEWIS". October 10, 2016.
  3. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (August 14, 2016). "Baseball: Royce Lewis is MVP of Perfect Game All-American Classic" – via LA Times.
  4. ^ "JSerra's Royce Lewis hopes to show MLB scouts he can play shortstop". dailynews.com. February 4, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  5. ^ "MLB.com 2017 Prospect Watch". Major League Baseball.
  6. ^ Percy, Nathan (August 7, 2015). "JSerra's Royce Lewis commits to UC Irvine". Orange County Register. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  7. ^ Sondheimer, Eric. "Royce Lewis of JSerra is the Gatorade state player of the year". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  8. ^ Bollinger, Rhett (June 12, 2017). "Twins pick Royce Lewis No. 1 in 2017 Draft | Minnesota Twins". M.twins.mlb.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  9. ^ Kelly, Matt (June 17, 2017). "Twins sign, introduce top Draft pick Lewis". MLB.com. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  10. ^ "Ryan Vilade Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  11. ^ "Lewis' first homer keys Kernels comeback".
  12. ^ "Royce Lewis Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  13. ^ "Top Twins prospect Royce Lewis promoted to Class A Fort Myers". Twin Cities. July 14, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  14. ^ "Pipeline 2018 midseason top prospect rankings". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  15. ^ "Royce Lewis Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  16. ^ "Minnesota Twins: Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff receive end of season awards". Puckett's Pond. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  17. ^ "Twins day at camp: Royce Lewis impresses but is sent down". Star Tribune. March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  18. ^ "Twins' Royce Lewis: Back at High-A". CBSSports.com. April 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "Breaking down the Top 100 Prospects list". Mlb.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  20. ^ Jim Callis (June 28, 2019). "Here are the 2019 Futures Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  21. ^ "After season of adversity, top Twins prospect looks for a big year". Star Tribune.
  22. ^ "Arizona Fall League rosters revealed". MLB.com.
  23. ^ William Boor (October 26, 2019). "Gleyber, Acuña, Hiura ... now Royce Lewis". MLB.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  24. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  25. ^ "Twins' Royce Lewis Requires Surgery To Repair Torn ACL". MLB Trade Rumors. February 24, 2021.
  26. ^ "Twins' Royce Lewis: Protected from Rule 5 draft". Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  27. ^ "'I'm young and I'm having fun': Lewis' first HR a grand slam". mlb.com. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  28. ^ "Twins top prospect Lewis tears ACL for second time". mlb.com. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  29. ^ "Twins' Royce Lewis: Starting at third base in '23 debut". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  30. ^ Cook, Mike. "Rangers drop from AL West lead as Twins win 7–6 in 13 innings, overcoming 5-run deficit," The Associated Press (AP), Sunday, August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  31. ^ Campbell, Dave. "Royce Lewis hits his 2nd slam in 2 days; Twins top the Guardians 10–6 for 7-game lead," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  32. ^ ESPN. “Twins rookie Royce Lewis hits third grand slam in 8 games,” ‘’ESPN’’, Monday, September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  33. ^ ESPN. “Boxscore,” ‘’ESPN’’, Monday, September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  34. ^ MLB. "Lewis makes Twins, MLB history with 4th grand slam of ’23,” ‘’MLB’’, Friday, September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  35. ^ "Lewis hits Twins-record 4th slam in 18-game span". ESPN.com. September 16, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  36. ^ Bettin, Anthony (October 3, 2023). "Twins' Royce Lewis named AL Rookie of the Month for September". CBS Minnesota. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  37. ^ Park, Do-Hyoung. "'He was born for this': Royce homers in first two postseason ABs". MLB.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  38. ^ "Royce's fourth homer matches Kirby for Twins' single postseason mark". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  39. ^ "Twins' Royce Lewis placed on injured list, could miss up to 2 months". theathletic.com. Retrieved March 30, 2024.

External links