Recently, Baseball America, Keith Law, and MLB Pipeline all unveiled their top 100 prospect lists. The three sources didn't see Minnesota in the same light with the Twins having five, three, and four players make the cut respectively. While there's some differentiation, Twins Daily's Nick Nelson did a great job looking at what the major prospect lists are saying about the Twins. What stands out as the most impressive bit of information, at least to me however, is just how glowingly Minnesota's 18 year-old pick at 1-1 is viewed.
Across the three main lists revealed (with Baseball Prospectus' list still due out), Royce Lewis comes in at an average of the 23rd best prospect in baseball. He's either viewed as the best prospect from the 2018 draft, or second only to the third overall pick, MacKenzie Gore. Not set to turn 19 until June of 2018, Lewis has already debuted at Low-A, and put up an impressive .757 OPS at the level. Playing an elite position on the diamond, everything continues to be trending upwards for the JSerra High School product.
While there's little reason for Minnesota to fast track a high school pick such as Lewis, his ability should continue to force their hand. Getting to Low-A as quickly as he did, Lewis reached the level even faster than the last player taken at 1-1 by Minnesota, Joe Mauer. Mauer made his Single-A debut at 19, and was with Double-A New Britain for 73 games as a 20 year old. His .785 OPS with Quad Cities falls right in line with that of Lewis, and when looking across past Twins success, it's hard to turn anywhere but the current legend.
Still growing into his body, scouts fully expect Lewis to come into more power as he matures. Putting up four home runs in his first pro action, the expectation of future 20 HR potential is far from being out of the realm of possibility. It's been discussed that the Twins have a glut of talent at the shortstop position, pairing Lewis with Nick Gordon, Wander Javier, Jemaine Palacios, and others, but that's hardly a bad thing. Whether Lewis sticks in the infield or not, a worst case scenario pushes him to being the most athletic outfielder in center field.
Through all three prospect lists, it wasn't just the numbers that looked favorably upon Lewis. Keith Law said "Lewis earned raves from scouts before the draft for his makeup, including his aptitude for the game, and the Twins indicated that was part of why they were comfortable taking him with the first pick...If he stays at shortstop, he has superstar upside with his speed and on-base skills; even in center field, he wouldn't lose much value because he's likely to be such a good defender out there." The guys at MLB Pipeline echoed some of those same sentiments in saying, "Lewis has outstanding athleticism on both sides of the ball. When you combine that with his baseball IQ, it's easy to see a future star...watching his full-season encore should be a treat."
Deciphering between the raw number in each list, and combining that feeling with the words attributed to the creators, it's safe to assume the Twins have something special on their hands. In observations of Lewis both first-hand and from afar, it's easily apparent to see this is a kid who gets it. All of the talent in the world is there, and it's paired with a strong support system as well as an advanced level of maturity. Minnesota is still at least a couple of years off from seeing the end result at the highest level, but there's no reason to stop dreaming about how good it will look.
Not all first round picks are the same, and even at the first overall pick a slam dunk is hardly the expectation. Early indications on the field suggest that Royce Lewis is acclimating just fine, and from the outsiders the compile prospect lists, national media is already on notice.
