Royce Lewis is still a promising player. The Minnesota Twins’ former No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft has been plagued with injuries throughout his professional career. While in the minor leagues, he tore his ACL in 2021 and missed the entire season. A season later, he debuted with the Twins in 2022, but 12 games into the season, he re-tore his ACL. Before his season ended, producing a .300/.317/.550 slash line and was 12 for 40 with two home runs and five RBIs.
“I’m tired of being the guy on the IL,” Lewis said last season. “Seems like these injury bugs, they just stick on one guy for a while. Hopefully, I got mine off.”
Lewis has been healthy in 2026 and he says he’s in a better head space because of the addition of MLBbro veteran Josh Bell, who joined the team this offseason.
Lewis has always been an exceptional talent with a knack for putting the ball over the fence. His power and bat speed put him in the same conversation as Ronald Acuna Jr, Fernando Tatis Jr and Elly De La Cruz. Lewis is known for hitting home runs in the most clutch situations. His first career home run was a grand slam.
The Twins’ third baseman played only 58 games in 2023, mostly due to his ACL rehab. He also missed 36 games with an oblique strain and the final stretch of the regular season because of a hamstring strain. While he didn’t play most of the 2023 season, he was spectacular when he did.
In August 2023, he hit four grand slams in the span of eight games. He finished the season with five grand slams, more than any player that season. Lewis continued his amazing grand slam season with grand slams in games one and two of the ALDS against the Houston Astros. He became just the third player ever to hit grand slams in back-to-back games in postseason history.
Since the beginning of his career, Lewis has played more games every year. He played 82 games in 2024 and 106 last season. The 2023season remains his best, but if he stays healthy, he can help the Twins return to the postseason again.
Lewis has already launched two home runs this season. During the Twins series against the Orioles, he hit home runs in back-to-back games – first against a sinker and then crushing a hanging slider. Once a three-hole hitter, Lewis has now slid down to the eighth spot in the lineup. Due to his injuries, inconsistencies, and a new manager, Lewis will have to work his way back into the heart of the lineup.
“He’s a young kid with confidence, and I wanted him to know, and I wanted to look at him eye to eye and tell him how much I believe in him and tell him how much I think he’s going to be a good player,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said at the winter meetings. “This guy has a chance to be a superstar. Number one, we have to keep him on the field, and number two, we have to keep him in a positive frame of mind.”
