Royce Lewis DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis is absent from the team's starting lineup for Friday's series opener at Target Field against the visiting San Francisco Giants. Brooks Lee will man third base and bat cleanup against Giants right-hander Jordan Hicks. Lewis has gone 0-for-9 with a strikeout in his first three games of the 2025 season after being activated from the injured list on Tuesday due to a hamstring strain he suffered in spring training. The 25-year-old former first overall pick in 2017 has quickly developed an injury-prone label but has high-end power from the right side, making him valuable in all fantasy leagues. Lewis should be back for Game 2 of the series against San Fran on Saturday. Lee's .253/.309/.387 slash line doesn't say much, and he's gone 7-for-30 (.233) with three doubles and two RBI in seven games in May. He has never faced Hicks early in his MLB career.

Minnesota Twin third baseman Royce Lewis (hamstring) is serving as the designated hitter and is batting fifth for the Twins in his 2025 debut on Tuesday against the visiting Baltimore Orioles and left-hander Cade Povich. Lewis strained his left hamstring in spring training and missed the start of the regular season, but he was activated from the injured list on Monday and will make his season debut in the series opener against Baltimore. While the 25-year-old former first-rounder has had trouble staying on the field since debuting in the big leagues in 2022, he has demonstrated his ability for high-end power by hitting 33 home runs and driving in 104 in 152 total games over 152 big-league games. Eventually, Lewis will move to an everyday role at third base, but for now, he will be eased in as the DH. Lewis is hitless in just two career at-bats versus Povich.

The Minnesota Twins announced on Monday that they reinstated infielder Royce Lewis (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list and optioned utility man Mickey Gasper to Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move. Lewis strained his left hamstring in spring training and opened the 2025 campaign on the injured list. But the 25-year-old right-handed power hit is back now and will make his season debut in Tuesday's series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. Even though he went just 4-for-23 with six strikeouts on his minor-league rehab assignment, fantasy managers that have kept Lewis stashed this whole time will want to get him back into their lineups this week. The former first overall pick in 2017 has never played in over 82 games in a season since debuting in the big leagues in 2022, but he has high-end power when he's healthy and is a lineup regular for Minnesota.