Royce Lewis return imminent; Buxton, Kirilloff remain sidelined
The return of Royce Lewis to the Minnesota Twins lineup appears imminent.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick started his rehab assignment from an oblique strain on Aug. 8 with the St. Paul Saints and all he's done since then is hit the ball with authority. He's played in four games and gone 5-for-12 with two homers, three walks and a stolen base. Not too shabby after missing 38 days with an injury.
The Twins are off Monday before welcoming the Tigers to Target Field for a two-game series starting Tuesday, followed by another off day Thursday before the Pirates come to Minneapolis Friday-Sunday.
Lewis suffered the injury running to first base on July against the Orioles. It abruptly halted what was a thunderous return to the Minnesota lineup after recovering from a torn ACL. His numbers this season at the MLB level – .326/.354/.474 (.827 OPS) with four homers and 15 RBI in 26 games – are among the best on the team.
Nobody on the Twins has a better batting average than Lewis and only Eddy Julien, Ryan Jeffers and Matt Wallner have a higher OPS.
If Lewis picks up where he left off and the Twins continue to get production from Wallner, Julien, Jeffers and Carlos Correa, who is hitting .370 since Aug. 5, the Twins could boast a formidable lineup down the stretch.
Manager Rocco Baldelli will have to do some shuffling, but perhaps the lineup against right-handed pitchers will look something like this...
- Eddy Julien, DH
- Carlos Correa, SS
- Royce Lewis, 3B
- Matt Wallner, LF
- Jorge Polanco, 2B
- Ryan Jeffers, C
- Max Kepler, RF
- Michael A. Taylor, CF
- Donovan Solano, 1B
That would leave Kyle Farmer, Joey Gallo, Jordan Luplow, Willi Castro and Christian Vazquez on the bench. Baldelli will have even more lineup decisions to make when Byron Buxton and Alex Kirilloff return from the injured list.
Buxton was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, retroactive to Aug. 2, so he's eligible to return any time. Kirilloff was put on the 10-day IL with a shoulder strain July 30 so he's also eligible to return any time.
