Royce Lewis' resurgence prompts Twins to revive canceled giveaway

Before the 2026 season began, the Minnesota Twins announced the first 10,000 fans at the Saturday, June 6 game against the Kansas City Royals would receive a Royce Lewis replica jersey. However, Minnesota optioned Lewis to Triple-A St. Paul on May 19 due to his awful start to the year, prompting the team to instead give away Byron Buxton t-shirts. Funny enough, Minnesota recalled Lewis on June 6, the day his jersey giveaway was originally scheduled for, after he slashed .340/.417/.868 (213 wRC+) with eight home runs, four doubles and 19 RBI across 13 games for the Saints.

Another funny tidbit is that the Saints scheduled a Lewis t-shirt giveaway for June 6 after he joined the Triple-A squad. The Saints still gave away Lewis shirts to the first 1,000 fans last Saturday, even though the infielder was no longer with the club.

Now, the Twins are finally going to get use out of their Lewis replica jerseys, announcing they will be given to the first 10,000 fans at the Sunday, June 28 game against the Colorado Rockies.

Lewis has continued raking upon being recalled, going 10-for-26 with three home runs, including a game-tying solo shot in the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night and another solo homer against the Cardinals in Saturday's game.

Can Twins' Royce Lewis continue his hot streak?

While we shouldn't get too optimistic regarding Lewis, considering he's only been back in the majors for one week, there are reasons to believe he can continue his offensive tear.

After being optioned to Triple-A, Lewis incorporated a leg kick into his swing to better time pitchers. He used the leg kick prior to his two ACL injuries (in 2021 and 2022) but removed it after struggling to replicate the movement. With his recent hot streak, it appears bringing back the leg kick has helped Lewis feel more confident at the plate.

Building back his confidence at Triple-A could've been exactly what Lewis needed to get back on track. Sure, Lewis could easily revert to the version of himself who has generally been a below-average hitter for the past three seasons. Still, his recent resurgence is nonetheless an encouraging sign. Let's not forget what the 2017 first-overall pick did in 2023, when he was one of the main reasons Minnesota won its first playoff series in 21 years, sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in the American League Wild Card Series.

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