Twins To Promote Royce Lewis
Per a report from Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Twins will promote top prospect (and top overall pick in the 2017 draft) Royce Lewis today. He’ll likely take the roster spot of offseason signing Carlos Correa, who’s set to undergo a CT scan after clubhouse X-rays indicated a likely non-displaced fracture of his right middle finger — an injury not likely to keep him out for several months but that will likely require an IL stint. Should Lewis find his way into bench coach Jayce Tingler’s lineup (manager Rocco Baldelli is currently away from the team after testing positive for COVID), the Twins will be replacing one 1-1 (the Astros selected Correa first overall in the 2012 draft, one spot ahead of teammate Byron Buxton) with another.
It isn’t clear whether Baldelli, Tingler, and Twins’ front-office duo Thad Levine and Derek Falvey intend to keep Lewis in the majors after Correa returns — or, indeed, exactly how long Correa will be out — but it’s unlikely they’d have promoted him if they didn’t expect him to play every day, at least until their $105.3MM man returns. While he’s unlikely to maintain the same level of production in his first taste of the big leagues, Lewis’ red-hot start to the year in the International League may well indicate that he’s ready to meet the challenge. Through 107 plate appearances at Triple-A St. Paul, the 22-year-old is slashing a robust .310/.430/.563 with nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20).
How he’ll react to the promotion remains to be seen, of course, but Twins fans will have high hopes for the club’s first top overall pick since Joe Mauer. While Correa ultimately landing in Minnesota was surprising for a number of reasons, Lewis’ presence wasn’t near the top of the list. Correa was and is widely expected to opt out of the final two years of his three-year guarantee to test the market again this winter (though that could change should his finger injury prove more serious than initial reports suggest), and Lewis hadn’t played an official game since 2019 after the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season due to the COVID pandemic and a February 2021 ACL tear that held him out of action for another full season. Indeed, that Lewis even opened the season in Triple-A was a bit surprising given he’d played only 33 games above High-A heading into the season.
Between the time missed and his relatively pedestrian numbers prior to the ACL injury (he slashed a combined .236/.290/.371 in 566 trips to the plate between High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola in 2019 before raking in the Arizona Fall League), Lewis had fallen somewhat precipitously down prospect lists. Baseball America, for instance, had ranked him the 9th-best prospect in the game ahead of the 2019 season, but he’d fallen to number 82 heading into 2022. The talent that led the Twins to take him first overall in 2017 clearly remains, though, and the toolsy shortstop will shortly get his first chance to prove he can hack it in the bigs — albeit a fair bit earlier than anyone would have expected as recently as a day ago.
Should Lewis prove himself capable of producing in the majors, it isn’t clear how the Twins will handle the infield logjam upon Correa’s return, though this would, of course, be something of an enviable problem to have. Lewis is unlikely to unseat Correa (by some metrics, including the 2021 Fielding Bible Awards, the best defensive shortstop in baseball) on a permanent basis, but he could likely shift to either second or third with relative ease, perhaps pushing Gio Urshela to first base (at least while Miguel Sanó recovers from recent meniscus surgery) or moving around the infield while others rotate in and out of the DH role. Regardless of how Lewis’ first taste of the majors pans out, though, Twins fans will surely be excited to get their first look at their likely shortstop of the future. But with their team holding an early lead in the AL Central, they’ll also hope to see him produce — particularly if Correa’s IL stint proves at all lengthy.
Twins Activate Alex Kirilloff
The Twins have activated corner outfielder Alex Kirilloff from the 10-day injured list, the team announced. They’ve also confirmed the previously-reported promotion of top prospect Royce Lewis to make his big league debut and recalled rookie right-hander Cole Sands. In corresponding moves, Minnesota placed Dylan Bundy and Luis Arraez on the COVID-19 injured list and optioned left-hander Jovani Moran to Triple-A St. Paul.
Kirilloff has been out of action for around three weeks after experiencing some inflammation in his right wrist. That was a worrisome development considering he’d had a surgery that ended his 2021 season on that joint last July. This latest injury didn’t turn out to be too problematic, however, and Kirilloff figures to step back into the everyday lineup.
A former first-round pick and top hitting prospect, Kirilloff tallied his first 231 big league plate appearances last season. He hit a slightly below-average .251/.299/.423, showcasing an intriguing combination of power and bat-to-ball skills but something of an overaggressive approach at the plate. Kirilloff has always been a bit of a free swinger, but the Twins are no doubt bullish on his ability to overcome a fairly low walk rate based on his excellent track record in the minors. He’s been limited to five games this season, with another recent top prospect Trevor Larnach getting the bulk of the work in left field while he’s been on the shelf.
There’s still a path for Larnach to get playing time at first base or designated hitter — or perhaps to kick Kirilloff to first and keep Larnach in left — with Miguel Sanó suffering a meniscus tear that required surgery. Arraez had been playing a fair bit at first, but he and Bundy tested positive for the virus yesterday. Minnesota had already called up top infield prospect José Miranda when Sanó landed on the IL, and Lewis became the next highly-regarded youngster to join the team.
Lewis’ reported promotion was spurred by fear that Carlos Correa would miss time after injuring his finger in last night’s game. Initial x-rays indicated the star shortstop might’ve suffered a fracture, but further testing today revealed only bruising and inflammation. Correa isn’t going on the injured list at the moment, but he’s not in tonight’s lineup. Lewis gets the nod at shortstop against the A’s.
Twins Designate Willians Astudillo, Charlie Barnes For Assignment
The Twins are designating utilityman Willians Astudillo and left-hander Charlie Barnes for assignment, the club announced. Additionally, left-hander Devin Smeltzer and outfielder Kyle Garlick have cleared outright waivers. Minnesota added six prospects to the 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline for Rule 5 draft protection: Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Blayne Enlow, Cole Sands, Chris Vallimont and Josh Winder.
Minnesota also announced that they’ve agreed to terms on a deal with outfielder Jake Cave on a major league contract. He’ll make $800K, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (Twitter link). Cave had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.1MM salary via arbitration. It’s not uncommon to see players on the non-tender bubble (as Cave appeared to be) agree to salaries for a bit lower than projected in advance of the non-tender deadline, however.
Amidst this large flurry of Twins transactions it’s the one jettisoning Astudillo that may grab the most attention. While the 30-year old didn’t quite get it done at the plate this past season, producing a .236/.259/.375 slash, his Twins tenure has often left fans looking past his offensive contributions. Dating back to his 2018 debut with the Twins, Astudillo has lined up at every position except for shortstop, providing adequate defense and pitching as admirably as one can expect in mop-up duty (including a 2.25 ERA in four 2021 innings). The multi-talented Astudillo is now all but certainly headed for free agency, though a reunion with the Twins later in the offseason isn’t yet out of the question.
Barnes, 26, is a soft-tossing lefty and former fourth-rounder who made his big league debut out of necessity to help soak up some innings in an injury-ruined season for the Twins’ rotation. He was clobbered for a 5.92 ERA while striking out just 20 of the 175 batters he faced. The Twins now have a week to trade Barnes or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Also gone from the roster are Smeltzer, a former Dodger prospect who came to the Twins in the Brian Dozier trade, and Garlick, an offseason waiver claim last winter who played a platoon role in Minnesota early this season. Smeltzer logged a 3.86 ERA through 49 innings during the 2019 season, his debut campaign, but has battled injuries and seen his performance dip in the two years since. He missed nearly the entire 2021 season due to elbow troubles.
Garlick, meanwhile, hit .232/.280/.465 with five homers and eight doubles in just 107 plate appearances. He hit 10 extra-base hits (four homers, six doubles) in just 63 plate appearances against lefties but spent the majority of the season on the injured list himself.
Most of the Twins’ additions are wholly unsurprising. Lewis was the No. 1 overall pick in 2017 and, despite missing the season due to an ACL tear, was never going to be exposed to the Ryle 5 Draft. Miranda was the Twins’ minor league player of the year and posted video-game numbers in the minors, hitting his way into Top 100 consideration. Winder has battled injuries but might be Minnesota’s top pitching prospect based on stuff alone. Enlow was an overslot third-rounder who has had his own injury troubles but is still held in high regard. Sands and Vallimont both rank among the Twins’ more promising arms themselves, even though Vallimont had a down year in 2021. The former Marlins righty, acquired in the trade that brought Sergio Romo to Minnesota and sent first baseman Lewin Diaz to Miami, is a potential fourth/fifth starter who’s reasonably close to MLB readiness.
AL Central Notes: Ramirez, Royals, White Sox, Lewis
“There has been no movement to date” on a contract extension between Jose Ramirez and the Guardians, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Ramirez is controlled via club option for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and the Guardians are sure to be exercising the 2022 option (worth $11MM) on the star third baseman in a matter of days. While extension talks usually take place later in the offseason, Ramirez’s long-term future has been a topic of conversation, considering how Cleveland’s penchant for trading star players before they become too expensive for the team’s limited payroll.
Previous negotiations between the player and the team didn’t go anywhere last spring, though Ramirez has said on multiple occasions that he would like to remain in Cleveland. Since the Guardians technically don’t have any salary committed for the 2022 season and beyond, there would appear to be payroll space to afford a Ramirez extension, even if a salary that would likely fall in the $25-$30MM average annual value range would take up a big chunk of the budget. As to whether or not Ramirez could be a trade candidate this winter, the Guardians have tended to deal players when they’ve been a bit closer to free agency than two years, plus Cleveland does plan to contend next year.
More from around the AL Central…
- The Royals‘ offseason pitching aim is to “continue to be very disciplined with our young players and work to build a really really strong and powerful and elite championship-caliber bullpen,” president of baseball operations Dayton Moore told The Athletic’s Alec Lewis and other reporters. In a sense, it’s the same strategy that led to Kansas City’s 2015 World Series championship team, but for the 2022 club in particular, a quality relief corps will take some pressure of a young and inexperienced rotation and is still largely getting used to facing big league competition. Moore admitted that the team’s limited payroll makes it “really difficult for us to sign a starting pitcher” of “top-of-the-rotation” caliber, but one tactic could be to pursue long relievers or spot starters to reinforce the younger rotation members. “I think you have to look (at) guys who could give us eight to 10 starts at some point in time,” Moore said.
- The Royals announced that first base coach Rusty Kuntz will move from the coaching ranks to a front office role as a special assistant to the president and GM for quality control. Kuntz has been with the K.C. organization since the 2008 season, working mostly as a first base coach but also spending a few reasons in other front office capacities. Moore said Kuntz may not be the only coaching change but most of the staff will return in 2022.
- The White Sox aren’t planning to make any coaching changes, manager Tony La Russa told Daryl Van Schouwen of The Chicago Sun-Times. “And that’s good, that kind of stability,” La Russa said. “We had a good thing going. It wasn’t accidental that those guys played their [butts] off and part of it was the staff.” The Sox already had a fair amount of coaching turnover last winter, with bench coach Miguel Cairo, pitching coach Ethan Katz, assistant hitting coach Howie Clark, and analytics coordinator Shelley Duncan all joining the staff for the first time.
- Twins star prospect Royce Lewis missed all of 2021 recovering from a torn ACL, but the youngster told The Athletic’s Dan Hayes that he is making good progress in his recovery. The highlight was a pair of Instructional League camp games in October, since represented Lewis’ first proper on-field action since the 2019 Arizona Fall League. Lewis has been medically cleared to play, but he said that he will continue to focus on his running this winter, as he feels he is running at only 60 to 70 percent of his full ability.
Royce Lewis Diagnosed With Torn ACL, Will Undergo Surgery Friday
The Twins announced Wednesday morning that shortstop Royce Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2017 draft and one of their top two prospects, has been diagnosed with a tear in his right knee’s anterior cruciate ligament and will require surgery. The procedure comes with an expected recovery time of at least nine months, so it’s likely to wipe out his entire season. Lewis is slated to undergo surgery on Friday.
As Twins president of baseball ops Derek Falvey explained to reporters (Twitter link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com), Lewis had been dealing with some soreness in his knee during offseason workouts. That may not have accounted for the tear, but he also recently slipped on some ice during the blizzards in Texas, where he lives during the offseason, which worsened the discomfort. It’s not known precisely when the tear occurred, but the end result is the same.
It’s a brutal blow for both the Twins and Lewis, who had a chance to break through to the Major Leagues in 2021. While his 2019 season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A didn’t go particularly well — combined .236/.290/.371 slash — Lewis rebounded from that performance with a huge showing in the 2019 Arizona Fall League. Through 22 games there, Lewis raked at a .353/.411/.565 clip, connecting on three homers and nine doubles while going 5-for-6 in stolen base attempts. That production earned him AFL MVP honors.
While some prospect rankings have seen outfielder Alex Kirilloff surpass Lewis as the Twins’ top prospect, that’s more a testament to Kirilloff’s progress than to a decline in Lewis’ stock. Lewis has been a consensus Top 30 prospect in all of MLB since the time he was drafted, landing at No. 17 on MLB.com’s 2021 rankings and No. 26 over at Baseball America.
The setback for Lewis is particularly poorly timed given the lack of a minor league season in 2020. While he spent the summer working out at the Twins’ alternate training site in St. Paul, the 2021 campaign would’ve given Lewis a chance to participate in a much more competitive setting and further his development as he continues on toward his Major League debut. He’ll now go more than two years between that huge showing in the 2019 AFL and his next at-bat in an actual game setting.
As a high school draftee, Lewis won’t even turn 22 until June, so youth is still on his side as he works to rebound from a devastating injury. Looking down the line, his ability to regain mobility in that knee will be particularly important, as there’s already been some debate about his eventual position. Lewis was drafted as a shortstop and has spent the bulk of his career there, though some in the industry feel he’d be better-equipped to play center field. He’s also spent a bit of time at third base.
There’s no guarantee that Lewis would’ve made it to the big leagues in 2021, although with some Double-A and/or Triple-A time under his belt, he’d at least have been a consideration in the event of an injury in the infield. He’s still a major part of the organization’s future, but Lewis will now have to navigate a substantial roadblock in his path to a Target Field debut.
Quick Hits: Schedule, Twins, A’s, Minor League Pay
The Nationals and Yankees are tentatively scheduled to play on July 23, according to Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, which would make for a big Max Scherzer vs. Gerrit Cole pitching matchup to highlight Opening Day. It might still be at least a week or two before the 2020 schedule is officially finalized, however, as the league is still considering a number of factors, chief among them coronavirus outbreaks around the United States. “Better, the league believes, to take its time, see how the [COVID-19] testing of personnel goes this week and the preferences expressed in feedback from clubs,” Sherman and Marchand write. “So the current schedule can change drastically and, if it does, the union will have to provide its blessing again.”
More from around baseball…
- Tomorrow is the deadline for teams to submit their initial 60-man player pool, and details are already beginning to emerge about which players may or may not be included. The Twins‘ taxi squad will include top prospects Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Brent Rooker, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson tweets. Caleb Thielbar, who rejoined Minnesota on a minors contract last winter, is also expected to be on taxi squad duty.
- The Athletics will initially split their player pool into two groups, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, with much of the big league roster training in Oakland and the taxi squad potentially training in nearby Stockton — the home of the Athletics’ Class-A affiliate — if a deal can be finalized with Stockton city officials. Offseason minor league signings Ryan Goins, Carlos Perez, Jordan Weems, and Lucas Luetge will all be in Oakland, while taxi squad players include such notable prospects as Tyler Soderstrom, Daulton Jefferies, Nick Allen, Dustin Fowler and (as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez) Robert Puason.
- Slusser also provides updates on some Athletics players who were battling injuries during the spring but are now on track to be ready for Opening Day. A.J. Puk “has been throwing bullpen sessions for months” following a shoulder strain in the spring, and looks to be ready to begin the season in Oakland’s rotation. Right-hander Daniel Mengden is also ready to be part of the pitching mix after recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery in February. After being sidelined with an intercostal strain during Spring Training, Stephen Piscotty said he is now “100 percent with no limitations.”
- The Rays and Rangers are the latest teams to commit to paying their minor leaguers through the end of July, as respectively reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Minor leaguers in each organization will continue to receive their $400 weekly stipends for at least another month.
Prospect Faceoff: 2 Future AL Central Stars?
The Twins’ Royce Lewis and the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. are among the jewels of their respective clubs’ farm systems, and if we’re to believe prospect gurus, there isn’t much separation between the two. Both players are regarded as top 30 prospects, MLB.com ranking Lewis ninth, FanGraphs placing him 13th and Baseball America putting him in the No. 26 spot. Witt checks in at Nos. 10, 23 and 24 on those lists.
Lewis, now 20 years old, entered the professional ranks as the No. 1 overall pick in 2017. At $6.725MM, Lewis received what was then the largest bonus ever given to a player drafted out of high school. Lewis came roaring out of the gates at the lower levels that year and the next season, though his production has dropped of late. He made his debut in Double-A ball last season and batted .231/.291/.358 (88 wRC+) with just two home runs in 148 plate appearances, though it’s worth noting that he was much younger than the typical player at that level. And Lewis, to his credit, did absolutely thrive dominate during the autumn in the Arizona Fall League, where he earned Most Valuable Player honors. There are some concerns about his “cacophonous” swing, as FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen explained in February, but he added that “the star-level talent will eventually shine through.”
Just where Lewis will line up in the majors remains to be seen. He’s versatile enough to play multiple positions (including center field), and the Twins seem to have found a long-term answer at short in Jorge Polanco. Likewise, the Royals are in nice shape at short with Adalberto Mondesi, so it’s up in the air where Witt will fit if he does arrive in Kansas City someday. They and the Twins can worry about how best to align their defenses at a later date, though.
[RELATED: When Will The Royals Contend Again?]
Witt, the son of former MLB hurler Bobby Witt, joined the Royals as the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft. He, like Lewis, got to the majors after a tremendous performance as a high school shortstop, and wound up signing for an almost $7.8MM bonus. But Witt endured his struggles during his initial taste of pro ball last summer, hitting .262/.317/.354 (85 wRC+) with only one homer in 180 PA in rookie ball. Nevertheless, Longenhagen compared Witt to Rockies star Trevor Story just a couple weeks ago, writing, “There are going to be some strikeouts but Witt is a big, athletic specimen who is very likely to not only stay at shortstop but be quite good there.”
Whichever positions these two play, we’ll be looking at a couple AL Central standouts if they develop according to plan in the coming years. Which prospect would you choose?
(Poll link for app users)
Royce Lewis or Bobby Witt Jr.?
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Lewis 50% (1,630)
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Witt 50% (1,630)
Total votes: 3,260
Details On The Twins’ Trade Deadline Talks
Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo represented the sum total of the Twins’ midseason additions as the club tries to hold its lead atop the AL Central. While Dyson and Romo address needs in the bullpen, Minnesota was also very aggressive in looking for starting pitching, though ultimately came up short in reinforcing the rotation.
Rival teams continually asked the Twins about top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff, with the Mets among the multiple clubs who asking for both youngsters. New York wanted both Lewis and Kiriloff in discussions about Noah Syndergaard, and if premium minor league talent wasn’t available for the ace, the Mets were also focused on adding Major League players, to the point of asking Minnesota about Byron Buxton in a possible Syndergaard deal.
Lewis and Kirilloff were also on the mind of the Blue Jays’ front office, as Toronto was looking for either of the prospects in exchange for Marcus Stroman. Minnesota turned down this initial request, and The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that the Jays never called back with any other offers before trading Stroman to the Mets. This would seem to indicate that the Jays were only interested in Lewis and Kirilloff specifically, though Hayes writes that “the Twins were disappointed when Toronto didn’t give them a chance to match an offer they believed they could have outdone.”
Beyond the prospects, Hayes tweeted that Luis Arraez was “everyone’s favorite ask” amongst teams who were offering rental players to Minnesota. Arraez has been a revelation for the Twins over his first 43 Major League games, as the rookie is hitting .349/.422/.445 over 166 plate appearances. Arraez has long boasted strong averages and on-base numbers in the minors, and while regression is inevitable, his .361 xwOBA isn’t far off his .388 wOBA. With this much potential, it isn’t hard to see why the Twins were reluctant to part with a 22-year-old, multi-positional talent for only a rental player (or potentially anyone).
Hayes reports that the Twins were considering both Robbie Ray and Mike Minor, though concerns about Ray’s durability and Minor’s July struggles diminished the interest. On the relief front, the Twins also had interest in Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez.
“It was one of the most unique trade deadlines I’ve ever experienced,” Twins GM Thad Levine told Hayes and other reporters. “One error I made was assuming that early in the trade cycle that the leverage was towards the seller. I assumed that there was going to be a little bit of a shift of that see-saw back to the buyer as we got closer to the deadline. I’m not sure we ever saw the shift in the see-saw. The sellers felt pretty emboldened. They set the prices high, which is very normal in a trade deadline. But I’m not sure they moved off of those high asks at any point, and as a result, there were just a finite number of players that meaningfully changed the fortunes of playoff-contending teams.”
Early talks with the Giants involving multiple players (including Dyson, Madison Bumgarner, and Will Smith) did result in the late Dyson trade. Minnesota and San Francisco re-engaged in talks just 45 minutes before the 3pm CT deadline, medicals on the four players in the deal were exchanged at 2:50pm, and the trade was finalized with just five minutes to spare.
Latest On Twins’ Pitching Pursuits
Over the past few weeks, the Twins have reportedly pursued trades for several high-profile starters, including right-handers Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard. Stroman, whom the Mets acquired from the Blue Jays on Sunday, is no longer an option for the Twins. Syndergaard, now one of Stroman’s teammates, could still move by Wednesday’s deadline. It doesn’t appear he’s going to end up in Minnesota, though. The Twins have balked at the Mets’ asking price for Syndergaard after turning down the Blue Jays’ requests for Stroman, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports.
Toronto ultimately gave up Stroman for prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson, two pitchers who do not rank among the game’s top 100 farmhands. On the other hand, the Blue Jays informed the Twins any Stroman trade “had to include” one of shortstop Royce Lewis or outfielder Alex Kirilloff, Neal writes. Lewis and Kirilloff are comfortably within baseball’s top 100 range, and they’re among a select few prospects the Twins may be wholly uninterested in trading for just about anyone.
The Mets, meanwhile, sought a return including center fielder Byron Buxton in their Syndergaard-related discussions with the Twins, according to Neal. Unsurprisingly, giving up Buxton was out of the question for the Twins, who have seen the 25-year-old blossom into a highly valuable member of their AL Central-leading roster. Buxton, moreover, is making just $1.75MM this season and under control via arbitration for the next three years.
Having struck out on Stroman and Syndergaard, the Twins are prepared to move on to relief pursuits, per Neal, who writes they “seem comfortable” with the starters they have. Statistically, their rotation – which consists of Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, Michael Pineda and Martin Perez – has held its own this season.
Minnesota’s bullpen hasn’t been as successful as the team’s starters, and there has been no shortage of recent turnover in its relief corps with the deadline approaching. The Twins parted with Mike Morin, Matt Magill, Adalberto Mejia and Blake Parker after each racked up a solid number of innings for the club earlier in the season. Hoping to upgrade, the Twins acquired the established Sergio Romo from the Marlins on Saturday. It doesn’t appear chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager are going to stop there. They’ve talked to every MLB team with relievers to trade – including the previously reported Padres (Kirby Yates) and Blue Jays (Ken Giles and Daniel Hudson) – and Neal suggests those discussions are likely to continue.
Twins, Mets Have Discussed Noah Syndergaard
The Twins and Mets have had discussions surrounding Noah Syndergaard since the Mets have made the right-hander available, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Minnesota has been linked to virtually every arm on the trade market — starter and reliever alike — so their inclusion in the Syndergaard bidding hardly comes as a shock. Nor is it surprising that Neal indicates that the Mets have focused in on top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff as potential headliners in a deal.
Lewis, 20, was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2017, and the shortstop entered the season ranked as a consensus top 10 prospect in all of baseball. He’s scuffled a bit in his first exposure to Class-A Advanced, hitting .243/.295/.384 through 410 plate appearances. Lewis, though, is still rather young for the Florida State League and is still generally regarded as a premier prospect, even if there’s a bit more of a divide on his status at the moment. Baseball America dipped Lewis to No. 21 on its latest update of the game’s top 100 minor leaguers, while Lewis resides at No. 2 over on Fangraphs’ latest update.
Kirilloff, 21, also entered the season regarded as one of the game’s 20 best prospects. He hasn’t replicated last season’s dominant numbers between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, but the outfielder has turned in a .284/.351/.403 slash in 261 plate appearances against older, more experienced competition with Double-A Pensacola.
The Twins have reportedly been loath to part with either Lewis or Kirilloff — the same has been true of top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol — although Syndergaard brings a different level of appeal to the table than most other arms known to be available. He’s controlled through the 2021 season (a year longer than Marcus Stroman or Mike Minor), has multiple dominant seasons on his resume (unlike Matthew Boyd), is still in arbitration as opposed to on a guaranteed contract (unlike Zack Greinke) and, despite a lackluster ERA on the season, offers some of the best raw stuff of any pitcher in baseball.
Syndergaard still averages 97.7 mph on his heater with a slider he can throw in the low 90s, and every club in baseball surely has its own ideas about how to restore his bottom-line results to their previous levels, which more closely aligned with his premium arsenal. The Twins, in particular, have added incentive to pursue controllable starters; each of Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson and Michael Pineda are free agents this winter.