DETROIT -- Twins new primary first baseman Royce Lewis got two hits Thursday in the 11-0 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park, and he also exhibited his new utility man tag by starting at second base.
Lewis, Minnesota’s No. 1 overall Draft pick in 2017 who continues striving to make his mark, is doing everything possible to turn the corner after returning Saturday from a two-and-a-half-week Triple-A improvement stint. He was hitting .163 when sent down, but was 5-for-12 (.417) in Detroit and is hitting .316 in five games back.
The 444-foot homer Lewis drove out of the park at 107.6 mph in Tuesday night’s 6-4 Minnesota win was the second longest of his career and longest by a Twin this season. He has four homers with 14 RBIs in 123 at-bats this year.
The talent’s surely in there, and he’s working long hours to get it all out.
Twins legend Justin Morneau, a four-time All-Star first baseman in addition to winning the 2006 American League MVP Award, is helping pass the torch to Lewis. Morneau, a special assistant to the team and TV analyst who retired after 2016, worked with Lewis recently in St. Paul and again on Wednesday afternoon.
“I think he’s such an athlete, and with him being an infielder, he already has the footwork,” said Morneau. “Now it’s working on all those little intricacies and little plays you might only see twice a year but can be messed up if you’re not ready for them. He’s going to develop that internal clock.
“But he wants to do it and is capable of doing it, and has a desire to be good. He wants to learn and do what’s best for the team.”
Morneau credited other coaches who’ve worked with Lewis, such as St. Paul manager Brian Dinkelman and Twins infield coach Ramon Borrego.
“The last couple weeks have been tough,” said Lewis with a smile and laughter. “We’re coming in, doing early work. It’s just more time added to the schedule -- more reps at first and second because it’s new to you. And I’m just giving myself the best opportunity to be ready for in-game situations.”
Minnesota drafted Morneau in the third round in 1999 as a catcher from New Westminster Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada, but immediately converted him to first.
“He made a good change, and we went over stuff,” said Lewis of Morneau. “We went over stuff for like an hour and a half.”
Watching the past and present blend at first base warms the heart of Twins manager Derek Shelton, who said former Minnesota manager Tom Kelly taught the position to Morneau. Kelly, the winningest Minnesota manager with 1,140 victories and World Series titles in 1987 and 1991 (when he was AL Manager of the Year), played first and outfield for the 1975 Twins.
“It’s good,” said Shelton. “I mean, it’s great … Any time you have a guy that the organization means as much to as it does Justin, and as invested as he is ...
“And I think the other thing is that Justin was a conversion, too, going from catcher to first. And he got it from T.K., who was the ultimate teacher of first-base play. So, the fact that we’re passing it down through the lineage -- and it goes back to maybe one of the greatest teachers of first base in terms of T.K. -- of anybody we’ve seen in baseball in the last 50 years. I think that’s really impactful.”
Morneau said of working with Kelly: “His attention to detail and all of the little things that you don’t really think about or even realize until they happen -- every single day he was pounding those lessons in. Thankfully, a lot of them stuck. And now I get to help others the way he helped me.”
Lewis could start anywhere on the infield except shortstop.
“It’s not that Royce won’t go back to play third,” said Shelton, who currently is starting Brooks Lee there.
Lewis hasn’t approached the .309 he hit in 2023 and still hasn’t done better than 16 homers or 52 RBIs in a season.
“I’m just going back to what feels comfortable,” said Lewis. “I got back to being myself and being athletic in the box and just went back to the [hitting] position that got me into that.
“We’ve been tweaking for a while. It came with the combination of keeping my head a little bit more forward, and making sure my bat path -- the bat wasn’t as flat before I start swinging.”
Is he enjoying first and the challenge of new positions?
“Challenge is a good word, obviously,” said Lewis. “Any time you’re doing something new, it’s uncomfortable, but uncomfortable can be good. It’s nothing wrong with it. You just work as hard as you can, and at the end of the day just play baseball.
“Whatever gets me in the box and in the lineup 600 times would be great. Honestly, I just get stoked when I see my name in the lineup. Positions are whatever it is. To be in the lineup is nice.”