The Minnesota Twins are on the road in Boston Friday evening, to play the first of a three games this weekend against the Red Sox at historic Fenway Park without former No. 1 overall draft pick, Royce Lewis.
That’s because, earlier this week, Royce was sent down to Triple-A St. Paul, after hitting .163 with a .539 OPS through his first 31 MLB games to start the 2026 season.
After taking his sweet time reporting to the Saints, Lewis finally showed up at CHS Field on Friday, where he did an on-field interview with reporters while his new team was warming up for their game Thursday.
How did it go? Well, if you hoping Lewis’ demotion would force him to look in the mirror and take accountability for his inconsistent, and downright brutal brand of baseball he’s played for the last two-plus seasons, then you might not want to read his comments below.
Royce Lewis still doesn’t get it
Royce says his talent speaks for itself. And yes, he has looked at his numbers, recently. But apparently, we shouldn’t be judging professional athletes on their statistics. Because Royce claims he’s been hitting the ball hard and just running into lots of bad luck.
You cannot make these quotes up.
“I think my talent speaks for itself, and I see it every day, honestly. It’s in the work that unfortunately you guys don’t get to see, so you think I suck, and whatever. That’s fine. You can judge me by [stats]. It’s real. It hasn’t happened yet. I hit balls hard that got caught. That’s all part of baseball.
Royce Lewis (via Star Tribune)
The soon-to-be 27-year-old went on to tell reporters that he “paused” the work he was doing with his longtime hitting coach, and focused on working with Twins hitting coaches.
The funny thing about Thursday night is that Royce Lewis actually went up to the plate and belted a homer on the first pitch of his first at-bat. It was his only hit in four plate appearances.
Royce Lewis. First pitch. BUH-BYE. Including his Major League rehab time, he has three hits at Triple-A, all have left the ballpark. pic.twitter.com/2WdGGqMAQN
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) May 21, 2026
Had Lewis not given one of the more self-unaware interviews in recent MN sports history right before, I’d probably be writing about that this morning.
Lewis blames MN Twins for tweaking with his swing too much
Instead, he had to point fingers and blame others for his baseball struggles, while continuing to concern himself with what people on the internet are saying about him, which won’t get the 2017 top draft pick back up to the big leagues any faster.
“The Twins wanted to go in a different direction to find some things,” Lewis said. “I fully listened and bought in. I’ve tried five different stances or styles. I’d love for people to watch how many times I’ve tried to change. It’s so hard.
“People can say, ‘Oh, he didn’t try to change anything last year.’ OK, well, I tried stuff now, and it’s the same results. It’s hard no matter what you do, and even when you’re feeling at your best.”
Royce Lewis (via Star Tribune)
Related: MN Twins Calling Up Top Prospect for MLB Debut
Lewis’ media meetup in St. Paul lasted a handful of minutes, two of which were posted in video form by KSTP Sports on X.
It’s worth a watch, even though the quotes from the Star Tribune above were not included — likely because the questions were not asked by their on-site reporter, Darren Wolfson.
Royce Lewis reported to St. Paul on Thursday.
This time for a reset, not rehab.
Our @DWolfsonKSTP and other media chatted with Royce today as he looks to get his swing and confidence back. pic.twitter.com/Stcr12ooF9
— KSTPSports (@KSTPSports) May 22, 2026
Lewis: “[The demotion conversation] was relatively quick. [Shelton] said, ‘We’re going to option you. Do you have anything to say?’ And I was like, ‘Uh, there are no words’. Obviously, you’re upset. Anyone’s gonna be upset when they get demoted in their job. That’s life. You just gotta keep working hard and figure it out.”
Wolfson: “Do you understand why they made the move they did?”
Lewis: “I don’t think it’s my job to understand. I think it’s my job to work hard and enjoy the process.”
More must-reads:
- Byron Buxton Begging Twins to Let Him Back in CF
- Royce Lewis Heating Up But Twins Have Moved On
- Confirmed: Released Pitcher Left MN Twins, Not Vice Versa
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