Royce Lewis Has Captured Some Of That 2015 Miguel Sano Magic

Royce Lewis makes adjustments to his swing, just like any other hitter. Some players see something on tape and change their swing plane. Others notice they’re behind on pitches and get rid of their leg kick. Sometimes, they’ll realize that their launch angle has dropped and change their swing to get under the ball. Those are technicians.

Lewis says he just does what makes him feel comfortable.

“I’m blessed enough to get those opportunities again,” Lewis said after his second consecutive grand slam, “because those are fun.”

“If a guy says, ‘I’m doing it because it feels comfy,’ he’s probably more of a feel guy,” Rocco Baldelli said with a smile. “I don’t think that the technicians in there think about it quite like that. Correa’s not going to look at you and drop a, ‘I’m doing this because it feels kind of comfy.’ But we’re here to figure out what works. I think that’s probably what works for Royce.”

Let’s drop the I think there. Whatever Royce Lewis is doing, it’s working for him. He hit back-to-back grand slams on Sunday and Monday, making him the first Minnesota Twins player to hit two grand slams in a season since Danny Valencia in 2010. No other Minnesota player has done it two games in a row. Valencia was Minnesota’s 19th-round pick in 2006. He debuted in 2010, hitting .311/.351/.448 with seven home runs, and came third in Rookie of the Year voting. Two years later, he hit below the Mendoza line, and the Twins shipped him off to the Boston Red Sox.

A year later, they traded Justin Morneau to the Pittsburgh Pirates, ending the once-promising Morneau-Joe Mauer era at Target Field. Fans turned to Byron Buxton, the second-overall pick in 2012, and 2009 international signing Miguel Sanó for hope. Buxton remains on the team and is dynamic when healthy. The Twins didn’t pick up Sanó’s option this season, and he remains a free agent.

But there was a time when Sanó was must-watch TV. He hit .269/.385/.916 with 18 home runs and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015. His nickname was Boqueton, which means “ballplayer,” but it sounds like the shark that gives the Meg anxiety. Sanó made the All-Star team in 2017 and had a career-high 34 home runs and .923 as part of the Bomba Squad in 2019. However, he had his best slash line in 2015.

Over time, Sanó became a one-dimensional, three-true-outcome player. He’d hit 30 bombs, draw 50 walks, and strike out 170 times. Sanó was also inconsistent year to year. He made the All-Star team in 2017, then hit .199/.281/.398, and the Twins demoted him to A-ball the following year. Sanó had a career year in 2019, then hit .204/.278/.478 with a league-high 90 strikeouts in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He bounced back and hit 30 homers in 2021 but hit .083/.211/.133 last year, and no team picked him up this season.

The No. 1 pick in 2017, Lewis has a similar stop-you-in-your-tracks quality when he comes up to bat, but he looks built to last. He’s a more complete hitter. Lewis, 24, has returned from two ACL surgeries to hit .312/.358/.500 entering Monday’s game. He’s joined Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner as Minnesota’s rookie trio. Together, they’re lifting the Twins out of their .500 doldrums and giving the pitching staff some run support.

Lewis approaches the game professionally but always has a warm, energetic personality. He adheres to a strict routine to prepare for every game. However, his passion for baseball manifests in an almost childlike manner. He willingly moves around the field, manning third base this season when the Twins re-signed Correa to play short. Lewis is a natural leader, someone the other players gravitate toward. He’s also clutch, hitting .387/.441/.677 in high-leverage situations, including .316/.409/.526 with two outs and runners in scoring position, and .333/.385/.458 late in close games.

On the surface, there’s nothing novel to Lewis’ approach. He says he’s calm in big situations, trying to approach them like any other at-bat. He believes the pressure is on the pitcher to stay in the strike zone. Lewis knows they’re less likely to throw off-speed pitches in the dirt, knowing a wild pitch or passed ball could result in a run scoring. That’s all typical stuff. But he has conviction in it. He walks up to the plate confidently, calm and collected, ready to make something happen.

“He’s the same guy that he is at his locker when you’re talking to him, at least when I’m next to him. He’s smiling in the dugout, he’s talking to people,” said Baldelli. “I know we’re probably talking about him coming through a lot for us, but I don’t think it’s because he turns into a different human being in those settings. I think it’s probably because he’s a confident guy.

We can pretend like everyone does love it. They don’t. Not every player in the big leagues truly, deeply, in their heart, desires coming up in the biggest moment of the game. And the guys that do like it and continually succeed in those spots, there’s a reason why. There’s no fear. There’s no complicating the situation. They just find really good channels and paths to just going up there and trying to put a good swing on the ball.

Lewis is from Southern California, but he lives in Dallas. He’s friends with Torii Hunter and his son, Torii Jr. A former Twins great, Hunter believes successful players remain at equilibrium and have inner cockiness. Lewis embodies that. He’s friendly and calm, whether he’s speaking with the other players in the clubhouse or at the plate down 5-0 to the Texas Rangers with the bases loaded. Baldelli jokes that big situations find Lewis. But it kind of makes sense. He’s not hiding from them. Instead, he seems at peace when he can make the most significant impact.