2025 Fantasy Baseball: Royce Lewis Profile, Preview, Predictions
In this story:
Royce Lewis is a talented player with high upside, but injuries have been a problem throughout his career. In 2025, he falls into the risk/reward category while having a more favorable ADP.
Royce Lewis just continues to mash.
— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2024
His 4th home run in his last 6 games. 💪 pic.twitter.com/8zDW1EPzHu
3B – Royce Lewis, MIN (ADP – 128.5)
The Twins selected Lewis first overall in the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft. His bat showed growth in 2018 between A and High A (.292 with 83 runs, 14 home runs, 74 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases over 483 at-bats). After a down season in 2019, he had limited playing time over the following four years due to two torn ACLs in his right knee.
Lewis returned to game action in 2023 on May 11th in the minors. After a hot start over 39 at-bats (13-for-39 with 10 runs, four home runs, 11 RBIs, and four steals), Minnesota called him up to the majors. His bat held form over his first 95 at-bats (.326/11/4/15/1), but an oblique injury pushed him to the sidelines for six weeks. The fantasy market witnessed a difference-maker run by Lewis over his next 38 games (.285 with 31 runs, 15 home runs, 42 RBIs, and five stolen bases over 144 at-bats). Unfortunately, a hamstring injury led to him missing the final 10 games of the regular season.
Last year, Lewis was a sexy upside player in the high-stakes market. One game (2-for-2 with a solo home run) into the season, he suffered a quad injury, leading to 66 days out of action. A hot month later (.276/17/9/17 over 87 at-bats), the Twins lost him for another 3+ weeks with a groin issue. Lewis played in another 53 games but was no longer an impact player (.207 with 22 runs, six home runs, and 29 RBIs over 203 at-bats).
His approach (strikeout rate – 22.8 and walk rate – 8.6) was about league average. Lewis has strength in his average hit rate (1.941) while having a sharp decline in his contact batting average (.312 – .414 in 2023). He finished with regression in his exit velocity (87.1 mph – 90.2 in 2023) and hard-hit rate (37.7 – 41.4 in 2023), painting a less intriguing bat. Lewis brings a high-volume fly-ball rate (45.9) with a reasonable floor in his HR/FB rate (15.7).
Fantasy Outlook: His bat is valuable to the Twins, and the best way to keep him on the field may be a DH role with minimal running. I feel for Lewis due to the high number of injuries. He has a season of major league experience (.268/81/33/104/6 over 549 at-bats), showcasing his potential. It’s about staying healthy for him and risk tolerance for anyone drafting Lewis. His ADP (128.5) is much more favorable in 2025.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
Follow Shawn__Childs