Can MLBbro Kyle Lewis Regain His NL Rookie of the Year Swagger in Arizona?

MLBbro Kyle Lewis seems to have found a stable home with the Arizona Diamondbacks after being traded from the Seattle Mariners. After being part of a virtual MLBbro farm system in Seattle featuring talented fellow MLBbros, Taylor Trammel, Justin Dunn, Justus Sheffield, JP Crawford and Shed Long, Lewis’ showcase of talent was seen far and in between due to knee and leg injuries. Those injuries got Kyle off to a late start in spring training, missing Arizona’s first 10 games.

 

 

Kyle Lewis Make His Comeback With Arizona Diamondbacks

But when our MLBbro got on the baseball diamond, he cemented his place on the roster by tearing up opposing pitching with a hitting slash of .480/.581/.960 in his first 31 plate appearances. Add on three home runs and three doubles, the Diamondbacks have already made plans to insert him into the designated hitter role against left-handed pitching. 

  

 

When approached last week about his journey throughout spring training, our MLBbro was very optimistic about his unusual progress combining rehab and live game work.

 

“It’s going well, I think it’s just about being consistent,” Lewis said on Thursday. “Just be consistent with the preparation and trying to get my body to a place where I wanted to be able to make an impact this year.”

 

“Hitting all the marks and adding to the workload every day and ability to play more and more, start playing back-to-backs hopefully and then go from there.”

 

That’s definitely what Arizona Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen is hoping for. Lewis was in his sights when he was with the Boston Red Sox front office back in 2016. Boston just missed potentially taking him with the 12th pick before Seattle snatched him up with the 11th pick.

 

Rookie of the Year Honors To Possible Stardom?  

 

Kyle Lewis was supposed to be one of the centerpieces of the Mariners youth movement a few seasons ago. He wasn’t just one of the most talented up and coming players on the team, but the AL West division. Our MLBbro’s 2020 American League Rookie of the Year performance did little to diminish those narratives.

 

 

 

Injuries End A Promising Tenure In Seattle

 

The 2021 season was the start of a tough injury stretch for our MLBbro. Surgery from a torn meniscus held Lewis to just 36 games and limited his baseball activities to the point he started the season late the 2022 season.

 

 

A concussion limited Lewis to 18 games before he was optioned to Triple A Tacoma.

 

The Here And Now For MLBbro, Kyle Lewis

 

Despite only playing 54 games with a batting average of .215 with only eight homers, Mike Hazen is confident in what Kyle Lewis brings to the table.

 

“He’s a good fit for us, we’re taking a shot at some upside here. He has the power potential, he’s gotten on base when healthy. We feel like this is a good opportunity for us to acquire some potential impact,” Arizona brass said. 

 

 

Look for our MLBbro to contribute primarily at the DH spot to start the season, but the major change will be in the field. Lewis will be moving to left field from center field. Arizona will look for him to bring occasional power from the right side of the plate.