Royce Lewis’s season debut for Twins had a ‘fairytale’ ending

Royce Lewis, a former No. 1 prospect of the Minnesota Twins, made his 2023 debut last night after missing most of last season with injury.

Sometimes the game of baseball can be such a beautiful thing. Royce Lewis, a 24-year-old utilityman who was once the No. 1 prospect in the Minnesota Twins system, made a triumphant return to the diamond last night against the Astros.

Lewis had been 12 games into his big league career last season when he tore his right ACL (for the second time) and was forced to miss the remainder of the season. The road to recovery for such an injury can be a long and grueling one for baseball players.

In Monday’s contest against the Astros, Lewis made his return to the field exactly one year from when he went down with the ACL injury.

And he hit a three-run home run.

Twins: Royce Lewis finally returns from injury, promptly homers

Still the No. 2 prospect in the Twins system, Lewis is back and looking for vengeance. He had hit .300 with a pair of home runs and five driven in last year, getting his career off to a red-hot start. After his dramatic three-run home run last night, he followed it up with another RBI single, getting his 2023 campaign off to a solid start.

For the Twins, the path to playing time is a bit foggy for the smooth-swinging utilityman. A shortstop by trade, he is obviously blocked there by Carlos Correa, even if the latter is not hitting as well as anyone would like him to be. Recently, Lewis has begun to get reps at second, third and even center field, so he will likely give the Twins yet another swiss army knife type of player.

FanGraphs’ Roster Resource depth charts have him penciled in as the club’s everyday third baseman, which is likely going to be where the majority of his at-bats come from. He will have to contend with fellow infielders Kyle Farmer, Donovan Solano and Willi Castro, but his multi-position versatility will give him a pathway to semi-consistent at-bats down the stretch for the Twins.