What Does the Carlos Correa Signing Mean for Royce Lewis?

[Prince William]

17 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

You didn't describe my way of thinking at all. In fact you described the opposite of what I was saying. I never said they should move Lewis off SS to a corner OF spot if he was capable of playing SS. My quote was "I have him pegged for RF IF HE CAN'T STICK AT SS." I also said he's best served playing an up the middle position if he reaches his ceiling as you get more out of him up the middle than on the corner. You're not even arguing against anything at all that I've said. 

My point about his slugging was that the other poster's stance of Lewis not hitting for enough power to play a corner was incorrect. Lewis is projected to hit for power. Miranda and Sabato are IFers and have no future as corner OFers so I'm not sure why you'd even bring them up beyond you arguing against something I wasn't even saying. Wallner is projected as a cOFer, but he will never have the speed or glove of Lewis so he'd need to hit drastically better than Lewis to earn a spot over him. 

Lewis is the best hope for a SS of the future who is close to MLB ready. Nobody is arguing that. That's why I said "if he can't stick at SS." If he can't stick at SS because of his glove, but still hits, he's more than capable of playing any OF spot because of his speed and athleticism. In fact we saw him play CF very well in the AFL. Correa is leaving after this season, but that doesn't mean Lewis is automatically the SS in 2023. I hope people are not so naïve to believe that you have to play Lewis at SS in 2023 just because Correa leaves and the team couldn't bring in a different SS if Lewis proves uncapable of sticking there.

In order for him to be a failed shortstop he would have to play there. I hear there is a pretty good shortstop on the major league team right now So if you are looking at him to be a SS, it would be in the minor leagues. It makes the RF question moot. Another season of minor league ball also makes clear what Lewis' capabilities are at a higher level

a slugging percentage that is 40 points higher is drastically better than one that is 40 points lower,

[chpettit19]

5 hours ago, Prince William said:

In order for him to be a failed shortstop he would have to play there. I hear there is a pretty good shortstop on the major league team right now So if you are looking at him to be a SS, it would be in the minor leagues. It makes the RF question moot. Another season of minor league ball also makes clear what Lewis' capabilities are at a higher level

a slugging percentage that is 40 points higher is drastically better than one that is 40 points lower,

He will start the season at SS in St Paul is the latest I heard. He can 100% be a failed shortstop without ever playing a single inning of SS for the Minnesota Twins. I am neither calling for him to start in the majors or to move to RF right now. I'm literally just saying there's a reasonable chance that a kid with his physical gifts is able to make his way to the majors from AAA in less than a year.

And a slugging percentage 40 points higher is not drastically better. It's better, but certainly not drastically. A guy slugging .550 would've been 9th qualified major leaguers last year. A guy slugging .590 would've been 5th. That doesn't make up for defense, base running, OBP, and every other part of the game. 40 points of slugging is not a lot.

[chpettit19]

9 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Other than being drafted 1sr overall, Lewis has done nothing to indicate he's a major league anything. Certainly not someone you open a spot for. He has a .740 career minor league OPS. A handful of AFL ABs doesn't change that.

He has time to develop. But he's not looked anything like a potential plus big leaguer so far.

I haven't said he should start in the bigs. I haven't said he should move positions yet. I haven't even predicted he would be up before September in this thread. You guys are all arguing against things I've literally not said. A poster said the only way Lewis is up before September is bad things have happened and he'd be playing above his level like Larnach and Celestino had to do last year. I am simply stating that it is entirely possible that a kid with his skill set and physical abilities could have made drastic changes to his game by doing something like changing his leg kick (news flash: HE DID!) during an entire season where he did nothing but work every day on his game with his coaches. I don't get why this is such a controversial thing to say.

Jose Miranda had never done anything in the minors and changed his game over 1 offseason to have an incredible season last year that should've lead to his debut. Akil Baddoo had played 29 games in 2 years with a .683 OPS in high A before having a .766 OPS in the majors last year. All I'm saying is that it's entirely possible that a prospect of Lewis' level can make a jump and it's possible he reaches the majors before September of his own accord and not because the team has failed or injuries have ravaged the entire lineup. I seriously don't get why that is controversial. I'm not predicting it I'm saying it's possible. Seems pretty standard.