I’ll never forget the day. There she was with her hair fluttering in the wind. She eclipsed the sun so that rays wrapped around her body with effervescence. The smile melted my soul. It was love at first sight. Except it wasn’t because she, of course, had a boyfriend. And then another. And….you get the picture. I got friend-zoned but always pictured the dream scenario. Then it happened. She came over and wanted to “chill.” But by this time, I had become best friends with her brother and didn’t want to be the rebound guy. I still think about what if, but believe I made the prudent decision. Which brings me to Royce Lewis. What a segue!!!
Lewis was the LA Times high school player of the year in 2016 and named California’s Baseball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017. He was considered one of the top prospects, known for his athleticism, advanced feel at the plate, explosive bat speed, and game-changing power.
Love at first sight.
The Minnesota Twins selected Royce Lewis with the first overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft.
Except it wasn’t.
Lewis tore his ACL in 2021, causing him to miss the entire season. He re-tore the same ACL the following season. In 2023, Lewis strained his oblique and injured his hamstring. The following two seasons were hampered by quad and hamstring injuries. Over four seasons, Lewis appeared in 337 games and accrued 1,329 plate appearances. The breakdown is 41, 239, 325, and 403 plate appearances.
This season, Lewis has played 79 games with 321 plate appearances, but we need to dig deeper.
From the start of the season to May 17, Lewis slashed .163/.261/.279 with a 31.1% strikeout rate and .115 ISO. Sure, the BABIP was only .215, but the average exit velocity was only 87.9 mph with a 29.4% hard hit rate and 73.8 mph bat speed. Lewis did miss nine games in April due to left knee strain, so that likely contributed to some of the slump. May 17 is when Lewis got optioned to Triple-A.
He returned on June 6 and has played well, culminating in a current heater that is making me fall in love again. Can I be prudent once again?
From July 25 to August 4, Royce Lewis is slashing .382/.400/.706 with a 20% strikeout rate and .324 ISO. The average exit velocity is 96.4 mph with a 14.8% barrel rate, 75.8 mph bat speed, and 51.9% hard hit rate. Oh baby. Now, it’s only been 35 plate appearances and the BABIP is an absurd .440, so this level of heat is unsustainable.
That said, after returning to the majors from Triple-A until the start of the heater (June 6 to July 24), Lewis slashed .245/.323/.449 with a 21.6% strikeout rate and .204 ISO in 167 plate appearances. The average exit velocity was 89.8 mph with a 12.4% barrel rate and 75.6 mph bat speed.
Pedigree? Check. Production? Check. In addition, since returning in June, Lewis has stolen seven bases and has been batting third to fifth in the batting order. The obvious bugaboo is the health, but Lewis looks mighty healthy. The beauty about the Lewis Express is that it either stays on the tracks and chugs along or gets derailed and flips over a hundred times before settling on its side in the desert. There is no in between which makes managing him easy for fantasy.
I picked him up where I needed some help. He’s been useable in points leagues. There was a half a season where he was a superstar!
Great pickup, terrible draft choice!
Nice! Yeah, he’s had spurts for sure. At some point, it’s all going to come together. Or not.
Getting derailed and flipping over a hundred times made me think of this play…
The one thing Lewis used to do is produce even in limited time. He stopped doing it last year and part of this year so it’s good to see him back on “track”.
I like seeing talented players do talented things.
Holy crap, was that today?
Haha. Thankfully no. It was from 2023. Nothing like watching him do that right after he returned from a second ACL tear.
yikes
That was you in the Perts League standings
LOL. That’s how I feel in the Perts League