Minnesota Twins: How will Royce Lewis fare in his first MLB shot?

After a month of hoping and begging the Minnesota Twins would make the call that brought Royce Lewis to the big leagues, it’s finally happened. All April long, he’s been red hot, and the Minnesota Twins haven’t been able to find a spot in the lineup for him due to superstar Carlos Correa starting at short and superstar Byron Buxton starting in center field. I understood them holding off.

Yesterday though, Correa was hit by two pitches that, after initial scans, appear to be have created a finger contusion and a possible fractured finger. With that being the case, the Minnesota Twins placed a call to Triple-AAA and have called up Lewis.

The Minnesota Twins have called up former No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis. How  will he fair in the MLB?

I’ve been concerned about Lewis in the past, and this year he fell to Number 2 in my rankings of the Twins’ top prospects due to the addition of Austin Martin to the system, but Lewis’ potential has always been unmatched.

Now, after lighting it up like we all knew he could, he’ll be making his MLB debut tonight, and it’s easy to see why his arrival is so exciting. All of the tools that made him the No. 1 pick of the 2017 MLB draft are still there.

His speed, which has allowed him to swipe eight bases in 24 games this year, is legitimate. That speed, coupled with a strong arm, makes him a solid defender at shortstop, something that was a big concern a couple years ago. His swing looks fantastic, and it’s lead to excellent power and average, and while he’s still striking out a lot, he’s also walking a ton, so his OBP is up.

There’s a possibility that when he gets up to the majors, he’s a stud who makes sure the Twins can’t send him back down again. He won’t stay at short when Correa returns, but the team would make room for his bat if his success carried over.

Now that we’ve gone over the optimistic view, let’s get real. There’s obviously still a big drop-off from Carlos Correa to Royce Lewis, because it’s nearly impossible Lewis will immediately match the stats the All-Star has been producing over the past two weeks. Correa is a proven stud and his loss will hurt.

Royce Lewis is also very unproven. As strong as his tools are, he’s only seen 24 games at a level higher than Double-AA and those were the only games we’ve seen him play since 2019. Is he ready to play baseball’s most important position at a high level? It’s a truly massive ask, and there’s a chance that he isn’t totally ready for the majors.

With that being said, it’s still exciting to see him finally arrive, and there’s truly no better time for him to make the majors than during a month of May when the Twins don’t face a tough schedule. If he can adjust and become a solid piece of the team, he’ll be able to stick on the roster once Correa returns.