Lewis named AFL Hitter of the Week

October 16th, 2019

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Royce Lewis’ trophy case -- otherwise known as his parents' house -- is starting to fill up and it’s added a few new additions over the past couple of days.

The Arizona Fall League announced Lewis as its Championship Chains Hitter of the Week on Wednesday, just a few days after he won the Fall Stars Game MVP Award.

“It’s always an honor to represent the Twins organization and [see the results of] all the hard work we put in throughout the season,” the No. 9 overall prospect said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Lewis, the Twins’ No. 1 prospect, won the award for his performance during the fourth week of AFL action. From October 7-13, Lewis played in three games and went 6-for-10 with two doubles and three RBIs. While the Fall Stars Game doesn’t count toward the award, Lewis did cap his week with a 1-for-3 performance that included a two-run homer.

“It’s been a great experience for me, just getting to know a lot of these guys and seeing the work ethic of all these guys that are potential big leaguers, every one of them,” Lewis said. “Seeing some different pitches, some filthy sliders, changeups, fastballs, sinkers, whatever it is and just knowing that that’s big league caliber pitching. … Anytime I can get some reps in, it’s always fun to try to level up my game.”

While Lewis has spent time all over the diamond in Arizona and is increasing his defensive versatility, the at-bats against advanced pitching have been particularly important.

The 20-year-old struggled offensively during the regular season and hit .236 over 127 games across two levels. Lewis has admitted that he got himself out too often and came to Arizona looking to work on his pitch selection and offensive approach.

So far, the results speak for themselves.

Entering play Tuesday, Lewis was riding a 12-game hitting streak and batting .397 through 15 games.

Although the immediate results have been more than impressive, Lewis knows the law of averages will eventually take over and that it’s important to focus on the process, not just the results.

“It makes it a little bit easier because you start working on things and when they start happening immediately, it’s pretty special,” Lewis said. “But at the end of the day, it’s going to start going back down and when it goes down, it’s just going to be me. So as long as I can rely on myself and bring myself back up … at the end of the day that’s all you need.”