Royce Lewis Afraid of MN Twins’ Top Prospect?

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Royce Lewis - Minnesota Twins
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The (16-22) Minnesota Twins are getting ready for the start of a new series on Friday, and their first game of the season against division rival Cleveland, who enters the series one game above .500, at 20-19.

In the lineup for the first time in three games will be Royce Lewis, who’s playing third base and batting 9th in the lineup. In case you haven’t been paying attention, the former No. 1 overall draft pick is off to an absolutely hideous start this season, batting .169 with a .582 OPS.

According to what manager Derek Shelton told MN Twins beat writer Dan Hayes (The Athletic), Royce’s two-game break was an attempt to work out some kinks in his swing and to give the soon-to-be 27-year-old a reset mentally.

And if you’ve read the quotes in Hayes’ latest article, you can see why the Twins are so concerned about Lewis’ mental state.

Royce Lewis struggling with replacement anxiety

In the piece, Lewis revealed what I’m unofficially diagnosing as severe replacement anxiety, over the idea of eventually being replaced at third base. Given how bad he’s been playing, it’s weighing on his mind heavier and heavier everyday.

“It can be really hard when you feel like your career is going in a different direction. It’s been tougher because obviously we know there’s always someone on your tail. There’s always someone ready to take your next job.

Every day I’m here fighting and working as hard as I can to show that I’m giving it my all to keep my job because I love what I do. I’ve been smiling. I feel fine leaving the game. But I think what scares me most is like, ‘Oh, they might try to get me out of here.’ When I leave the field, that thought does creep into my head.”

Royce Lewis – via The Athletic

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Royce Lewis has always been an amazing quote, willing to open up on subjects that other Minnesota Twins players, and professional athletes in general, aren’t willing to dive into. Without a doubt, this topic falls into that category.

Every pro athlete fears the day they will be replaced by someone younger and more talented. Some deal with it sooner than others, just like some handle it better than others. The greats, Michael Jordan for instance, used it as motivation.

Lewis seeing Kaelen Culpepper in his rearview nightmares?

Some, however, cannot handle that type of pressure. And what’s even more interesting, in Lewis’ case specifically, we know the player/prospect behind him that he can’t get out of his head — MLB’s No. 44 overall prospect (MLB Pipeline) — shortstop Kaelen Culpepper.

Lewis did not mention Culpepper on the record. However, Hayes brings the 23-year-old up multiple times and makes it clear that he is THE GUY Royce is worried about.

Royce Lewis is not only slumping. He can also hear Kaelen Culpepper’s loud footsteps at Triple A and wonders if his days with the Minnesota Twins are numbered…Lewis is particularly attuned to the business of baseball and seems aware of his own career mortality as he continues to struggle and prospects like Culpepper heat up.

“It feels like people around here sometimes are waiting for me to struggle so that they can write me off officially or get me out of here,” Lewis said. “It’s the first time in my career where it’s become a business instead of playing the game that I love.”

The Athletic

After a slow start to the season, Culpepper has been on fire of late, hitting .333 with a .857 OPS in the month of May, raising his season batting average to .250 and his OPS to .829. In 128 at bats, the Minnesota Twins’ 2024 No. 21 overall draft pick has smacked 8 homers, driven in 25 RBI, scored 24 more and stolen 7 bases.

Hey Royce Lewis, buck up, Buttercup…

After this interview, and given how poorly he has played for the last two-plus seasons, I think it’s safe to say he’s no Michael Jordan, when it comes to how he handles the pressure of being replaced.

He isn’t asking for it, but I am going to offer it anyway. Royce Lewis should worry about himself. If he plays well, the Minnesota Twins will not try to replace him, no matter how good the next best prospect behind him really is.

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If he’s feeling like his arbitration number is getting too high for the Pohlads’ liking, then change it. No Major League Baseball owner wants to pay $2.85 million for you to hit below the Mendoza line. Hit .300 and raise your OPS to .800 and $3 million per year suddenly looks like a bargain.

Knowing your organization is always trying to get younger, cheaper talent in to take your spot is just part of the business. Unfortunately, we know enough about Royce Lewis, at this point, that it’s worth wondering if he’s capable of keeping his mind off things he can’t control. Because it sure doesn’t seem like it.

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