Royce Lewis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Royce Lewis |
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Lewis with the St. Paul Saints in 2022
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| Minnesota Twins – No. 23 | ||||||||||||||
| Third baseman | ||||||||||||||
| Born: June 5, 1999 Aliso Viejo, California, U.S. |
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| debut | ||||||||||||||
| May 6, 2022, for the Minnesota Twins | ||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through September 18, 2024) |
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| Batting average | .278 | |||||||||||||
| Home runs | 33 | |||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 103 | |||||||||||||
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Medals
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Royce Oliver Lewis was born on June 5, 1999. He is an American professional baseball player who plays third baseman for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins are a team in Major League Baseball (MLB). Royce was the very first player picked in the 2017 MLB draft. He started playing in the MLB in 2022.
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Early Baseball Days
Royce Lewis grew up in Aliso Viejo, California. He went to JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California. In his junior year, he was named the high school baseball player of the year by the Los Angeles Times. He hit really well, with a .429 batting average and four home runs.
In the summer of 2016, Royce played in two special games for top young players. He was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in both the Under Armour All-American Game and the Perfect Game All-American Classic. He mostly played third base and outfield in high school. For his senior year, he moved to playing shortstop.
Many people thought Royce was one of the best young players for the 2017 MLB draft. He had planned to play college baseball at the University of California, Irvine. In 2017, he was named California's Baseball Gatorade Player of the Year. He batted .377, hit four home runs, and stole 25 bases that year.
Becoming a Pro Player
Starting in the Minor Leagues
The Minnesota Twins chose Royce Lewis as the very first pick in the 2017 draft. He signed with the Twins on June 17, 2017. Royce started his professional career with the Gulf Coast League Twins in the Rookie League on June 26. Later that year, he moved up to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. In 2017, he played 54 games, hitting .279 with four home runs and 18 stolen bases.
In 2018, Royce started with the Cedar Rapids Kernels again. He played 75 games there, hitting .315 with nine home runs. On July 14, 2018, he was promoted to the Fort Myers Miracle. MLB.com even ranked him as the 10th best young player in baseball. After the 2018 season, Royce was named the MVP of the Midwest League.
The Twins invited Royce to spring training in 2019. He started the 2019 season back with the Fort Myers Miracle. He was ranked as the fifth-best young player by MLB.com. Royce was also chosen to play in the 2019 All-Star Futures Game. In July, he moved up to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He played 127 games that year, hitting 12 home runs and stealing 22 bases.
After the 2019 season, Royce played in the Arizona Fall League and was named its MVP. He did not play in 2020 because the minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2021, Royce had a serious knee injury that needed surgery. This meant he had to miss the entire 2021 season to recover. After his recovery, he was added to the Twins' main roster.
Joining the Major Leagues
Royce Lewis made his big debut in Major League Baseball for the Twins on May 6, 2022. Just a week later, on May 13, he hit his very first home run. It was a special one called a "grand slam," which means he hit it when all three bases were full of his teammates. This scored four runs! He was only the second Twins player ever to hit a grand slam for his first home run.
Royce played in 12 games for the Twins, hitting well with two home runs. However, on May 29, he injured his knee again. This injury also needed surgery, and he had to miss the rest of the 2022 season.
On May 29, 2023, Royce was back on the field as the starting third baseman. He quickly showed how good he was. On August 28, he became the first Twins player to hit a grand slam in two games in a row! On September 4, he hit his third grand slam of the season, tying a team record. Then, on September 15, he hit his fourth grand slam, setting a new record for the Twins!
Royce played in 18 games in 2023, hitting six home runs. He was even named the AL Rookie of the Month. He also played in the playoffs for the Twins. In the 2023 AL Wild Card Series, he hit home runs in his first two turns at bat. He hit his fourth home run of the postseason in Game 4 of the 2023 ALDS. This tied a team record for the most home runs in one postseason.
At the start of the 2024 season, Royce had another injury, this time to his leg. He went on the injured list on March 30.
