Struggling MN Twins Slugger Can’t Settle on New Bat

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Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There was a time Royce Lewis was the most exciting player on the Minnesota Twins roster, even crowned “Mr. Grand Slam” early in his career because he was so good in clutch moments when he was first brought up to the big leagues.

Fast forward a few years, Lewis is giddy just to get a hit period, regardless of how many runners on base. Entering Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Royce is hitting an absolutely brutal .165 with a .557 OPS and 55 OPS+.

The MN Twins continue to give Lewis time to sort through his offensive issues, despite his anxiety over a possible demotion. Yet, to this point, his weeks-long slump is in danger of going month-long, and there is seemingly no end in sight.

Then Friday, Bobby Nightengale (Star Tribune) dropped a semi-light-hearted story in his “Extra Innings” newsletter that will certainly be taken by some fans as yet another sign that the former No. 1 overall draft pick is going through it right now.

Royce Lewis trying to find a new bat…?

And by “through it”, I mean “through bats”. Apparently, Royce Lewis is using about a half-dozen different bat models, trying to find one that fits him, after his contract with Louisville Slugger expired this offseason.

He’s tried Byron Buxton’s model, Alex Bregman’s, Bobby Witt Jr., and he has the Vlad Guerrero model ordered and en route for a game to be played soon. He’s gone through about six different brands, has not found one he likes… and really has no organized process to which he’s selecting his lumber, on a game-in, game-out basis.

Lewis estimated he has used bats from six different companies for games this year. One of them is the same model as Byron Buxton. Lewis has used bat models from friends Alex Bregman and Bobby Witt Jr., and he’s ordering Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s bat because, well, if he could replicate a swing like Vladdy’s, why not try it?  

“It’s just like if I was stuck with only Samsung phones, I would hate it,” Lewis said. “I want to be open. If I want have an Apple one day, sure, great. The next day I want to use Google phone or whatever, I can use that. I like trying out new things.” 

“I order the same weight,” Lewis said. “Honestly, there is not much that is different other than the model. Whatever feels good. I don’t have a preference. One day a certain model feels good, the next day it feels horrible. I’m trying to find the perfect one for me. I haven’t found it yet. It’s been a while. I used to like Andrew McCutchen’s [model] a long time ago, but he kind of changed it up a little bit.”

Bobby Nightengale – Star Tribune (Extra Innings Newsletter)

Royce Lewis has been on the field for 29 of the Minnesota Twins’ 45 games this season. Unlike previous years, he’s remained mostly healthy. Unfortunately, production has not followed in the footsteps of his availability like we once assumed it would.

How long should Twins wait on Lewis?

There is a level of superstition to a game as fickle as baseball. However, he doesn’t appear overly concerned that his lumber indecisiveness might be contributing to his offensive struggles.

Once seen as one of the brightest young stars in the league, posting a 148 OPS+ during his first 70 big league games, Lewis currently looks like a shell of that old self.

When you have a 20-24 record like the Minnesota Twins, problems will be aplenty. While it’s not solely tied Lewis whose struggles are hurting the team, his anemic bat is certainly at the top of that list.

Others riding the offensive struggle bus include Josh Bell (.607 OPS), Luke Keaschall (.600), Victor Caratini (.520), and the recently demoted Matt Wallner (.551).

Royce does have two minor league options remaining. However, sending the 26-year-old back to Triple-A would be alarming and could very well break him, mentally. So it’s not a black-or-white decision.

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