Puckett’s Pond Minnesota Twins Top 20 Prospects: 1-5

3. Royce Lewis, SS, 18 years old

Lewis is just barely 18, having turned 18 roughly a week before the 2017 draft. Many thought the Twins drafted Lewis because he was a lesser prospect that would take less money. While the latter is true, Lewis was absolutely a legit #1 overall consideration in the draft.

Lewis is an impressive athlete at 6’2″ and 190-ish pounds. He’s a balanced athlete with excellent power and speed, likely rating as above average in the power and certainly plus in speed. Where Lewis is incredibly advanced is in his hit tool and eye at the plate, which should allow him to move quickly through the minor leagues.

There were questions coming into the spring about whether Lewis would be able to handle shortstop long-term, but he worked hard in the offseason at his defensive actions and impressed scouts that saw him throughout the spring in his work at shortstop, where his plus arm should play well with the work he’s put in to become a better defender at short. He should work up the middle no matter where he ends up, likely 2B or CF if he’s not at SS.

He’s come out strong in the Gulf Coast League with the Twins, hitting .319/.402/.556 with 6 doubles, a triple, 3 home runs, and 6 stolen bases, with an excellent 7/8 BB/K ratio.