Royce Lewis is slumping at a bad time for the Twins

Lewis has been ice cold for three weeks when the Twins have needed him most.

Aug 21, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter Royce Lewis (23) hits a sacrifice fly against the San Diego Padres during the third inning at Petco Park. / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Plenty of things have gone wrong lately for the Twins, who have lost seven of their last nine games heading into Wednesday night's series finale with the Braves. The bullpen has worn thin and blown several leads, the rookie-laden starting rotation has been up and down, and several key bats have not been producing.

Chief among those struggling bats is Royce Lewis, who has been slumping at a bad time for the Twins. With Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton on the injured list, Lewis would ideally be carrying Minnesota's lineup as the lone healthy member of its big three. Instead, he's been ice cold for three weeks.

After going 0 for 5 with three strikeouts in the Twins' latest frustrating loss on Tuesday, Lewis is hitting just .215 with a .558 OPS in 19 games since August 9. His wRC+ in that span is 54, which is tied with Jose Miranda for dead last among the Twins' regular hitters (100 is average). Lewis hasn't homered or had a multi-hit game since he did both on August 12, more than two weeks ago.

Because Lewis was so ridiculously good early on, hitting ten homers in his first 16 games, his season-long numbers are still strong. Working around two injury absences this year, he has 15 home runs, 40 RBI, and an .874 OPS in 54 games. Those are objectively impressive stats. But even if he was unlikely to sustain his early pace, it's been discouraging to see Lewis' OPS drop nearly 200 points from when it was at 1.056 on August 4.

It seems likely that Lewis — who has strained his quad and his adductor this season — isn't 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 drive in runs while playing a serviceable third base.

Earlier this year, Lewis said "I don't do that slump thing." While his confidence was admirable, the reality is that he is very much in a slump right now. And with the Twins trailing both the Guardians and Royals by a few games in the AL Central as September approaches, it would be huge if their 25-year-old star can snap out of it and go on another hot streak.

Related: Twins' Byron Buxton 'getting closer,' might get rehab assignment