A lot has gone wrong for the Twins lately. They have lost seven of their last nine games before the final game of the series against the Braves on Wednesday night. The bullpen has been depleted and has blown several leads, the starting lineup, which is full of rookies, has been inconsistent, and several key hitters have not performed to their potential.
Chief among these struggling hitters is Royce Lewis, who has fallen into a slump at an inopportune time for the Twins. With Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton on the injured list, Lewis would ideally be the only healthy player of Minnesota’s big three in the lineup. Instead, he has been ice cold for three weeks.
After going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in the Twins’ latest frustrating loss on Tuesday, Lewis has just a .215 batting average with a .558 OPS in 19 games since Aug. 9. His wRC+ over that span is 54, which ranks him tied with Jose Miranda for last among the Twins’ regular hitters (100 is the average). Lewis hasn’t hit a home run or had a multi-hit game since Aug. 12, more than two weeks ago.
Because Lewis was so incredibly good to start, hitting ten home runs in his first 16 games, his season-long numbers are still strong. Despite missing two games with injuries this year, he has 15 home runs, 40 RBIs and an OPS of .874 in 54 games. Those are objectively impressive numbers. But even if it’s unlikely he can maintain his early pace, it was disheartening to see Lewis’ OPS drop nearly 200 points since it was 1.056 on August 4.
It appears that Lewis — who strained his quadriceps and adductor muscles this season — is not 100 percent healthy. That’s pretty clear when you watch him run the bases. But the Twins don’t need him to be a speed threat, they need him to hit the ball over the fence and score runs while playing a serviceable third base.
Earlier this year, Lewis said, “I’m not having any slumps.” While his confidence was admirable, the reality is that he’s in a slump right now. And with the Twins several games behind the Guardians and Royals in the AL Central in September, it would be great if their 25-year-old star could break out of his slump and get back on a winning streak.
Related: Byron Buxton of the Twins is getting closer to the goal and may get a rehab assignment
