Royce Lewis has gone from carrying the Minnesota Twins’ offense to searching for answers.
When the Twins were rolling between June and July, Lewis was right in the middle of it. He launched eight homers and drove in 24 runs during that run, helping Minnesota stack up a 33-23 record.
The last month has told a different story. Since the start of August, Lewis’ production has slipped badly, and the power that once fueled his bat has vanished. Over his last 21 games, he has gone 86 plate appearances without a home run.
The numbers behind the slide are just as stark. In that span, Lewis has drawn only three walks while striking out 22 times, which is more than his hit total of 19.
Minnesota has felt the impact, too. During his prolonged slump, the Twins have gone 8-13 and dropped 4.0 games back in the Wild Card race, a dangerous spot with the final month of the season underway.
A big part of the issue is the way pitchers are attacking him. Since Aug.
7, Lewis has seen fewer fastballs than he did earlier in the year, and the shift makes sense. His biggest whiff problem this month has come against breaking balls, where his whiff rate sits at 41.4%.
At the same time, he has actually been better against fastballs. His swings and misses on those pitches are down by 13.8%, and his xBA against them has climbed from .272 to .326. The slider has become a particular weapon for opponents, especially in two-strike counts, where pitchers have leaned on it to finish him off.
The trouble shows up most clearly in where Lewis is vulnerable. Even in this rough stretch, he still punishes fastballs and does damage in the inner part of the zone.
The bigger issues come on pitches up in the zone and on the outer edge, where his swing is much easier to beat. His swing-and-miss rates on pitches outside the strike zone are also extremely high, though he hasn’t seen a huge number of pitches in some of those areas.
For Lewis, the path out starts with better plate discipline. His aggressiveness is part of what makes him such a dangerous hitter, but it has also left him exposed as pitchers send more breaking stuff his way. If he wants to change the story, he has to tighten that approach.
There is one encouraging piece for Minnesota: Lewis has not been easy to quiet when the stakes rise. In High Leverage, he is hitting .275/.388/.425 with a .813 OPS and a 128 wRC+.
When the Twins need him most, he has usually delivered. Now they need that version of him back.
In Other News...
Twins Move On From Kyler Fedko In Painful Roster Twist
September roster churn brought an especially tough turn for Kyler Fedko, whose brief run in the Twins organization ended with a designation for assignment after a severe knee injury. Minnesota made the move while also promoting infielder Ben Ross to the 40-man roster and recalling right-hander Garrett Acton from Triple-A as part of the clubs September call-ups, a reminder that this time of year can be as much about paperwork as it is about opportunity.
Fedkos situation carries a painful layer beyond the roster math, since injury waiver rules mean he will be released because of the injury and then becomes available again afterward. The door is not necessarily closed from there, whether that leads to a return with the Twins or a chance elsewhere, but for now the transaction underscores how quickly a promising path can change when health intervenes. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Triple-A Lineup Is Suddenly Chasing An Even Bigger Record
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Kalai Rosario supplied the tying blast before Cody Morissette delivered the record-breaker, and the balance of the lineup has been almost as striking as the raw total. The Saints now have 12 players with at least 10 homers, a depth of thump that has them within reach of the all-time minor league single-season home run record held by the El Paso Chihuahuas, giving Minnesota plenty to monitor as the year winds down. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Wallner May Be Running Out Of Time With The Twins
The Twins used their September call-ups to bring up Ben Ross and Garrett Acton from Triple-A St. Paul, and the move said plenty about where Matt Wallner stands right now. Once viewed as a promising outfield bat, Wallner was sent to the minors while Minnesota looked elsewhere for help, a sign that the clubs patience with his uneven production may be wearing thin.
Wallners profile has not helped him stay in the picture. The strikeouts and whiffs have piled up, his sprint speed has trended down, and his defense has not given the Twins much reason to keep waiting for a breakthrough. With the team continuing to promote other players instead of him, the question is no longer just how long Wallner can hold onto a roster spot, but whether the organization has already started to move on. [Read more 🡒]