Get to Know Twins Draft Pick Cory Lewis

[Ted Schwerzler]

Over the past three days, major-league teams have had the opportunity to improve their farm systems through the amateur draft. The Twins found themselves near the top of each round because of their last-place finish a year ago. With their 9th-round selection, they took right-handed pitcher Cory Lewis.

 

Cory Lewis went through a UC-Santa Barbara program that also produced current Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber. Lewis is a big-bodied thrower at 6’5” and uses an analytical background to get the most from his stuff. He has a plethora of offerings and also mixes in a knuckleball that can be usable at the big league level. This type of talent is one that should turn heads for Twins fans.

I caught up with the Gauchos' former Friday starter, and he had a lot of great insight to offer.

Twins Daily: As a California kid, how much of a priority was it to stay in your home state and play college baseball?

Cory Lewis: I would say it was pretty important to me because I knew that I wanted my parents to be able to come to most of my games. Going to Santa Barbara was perfect for me because it was just far enough away for me to feel away from home but also it gave me the opportunity to play at a place where my parents were able to attend the games.

TD: You pitched as one of UCSB's best starters over the past two years, what helped you to be so successful at that level?

CL: I would definitely say how my fastball and curveball paired up, as well as throwing five pitches for strikes most of the time really helped me be successful. The vertical break of my fastball really helped me be able to pitch up in the zone and miss barrels. My curveball tunneled perfectly with my fastball so it was a great 1-2 punch. When I had all five pitches around the zone, the hitters were usually in trouble.

TD: Predominantly a fastball/curveball pitcher, what's your total arsenal look like?

CL: The full arsenal would probably go in order of fastball, knuckle curveball (12/6), changeup, knuckleball, and slider. The slider has always been a work in progress as it has been pretty inconsistent, but I have been pretty confident in my other pitches. I have thrown fastball, curveball, knuckleball, change-up to lefties and fastball, curveball, knuckleball, slider mostly to righties.

TD: As a taller pitcher and someone that may benefit from spin rates and advanced analytics, how much do numbers play into your process?

CL: I would say they play a pretty big role in my process mainly with my fastball. Without advanced analytics on my fastball, I do not think that I would have known how well my fastball plays up in the zone. The induced vertical break usually hovers around 23-25 on average and has gotten up to 29 at its top. As for my off-speeds, they typically have less spin than expected. My curveball and slider do not spin at crazy high numbers, but they still tend to work well with my fastball.

TD: What do you know about the Minnesota Twins? Have you ever been to Target Field?

CL: Honestly, I don’t know much! But I am excited to learn much more about the history and current team. I would say most of my knowledge has come from MLB the Show whenever they release Twins legends like Joe Mauer, Kirby Puckett, Justin Morneau, and many others. I have never been to Target Field, but it looks great on TV.

TD: If there's something you want Twins Territory to know specifically about you, what is it?

CL: Something specifically about me would be that I love to golf in my free time, although I’m not the best, but I have a good time on the course. I also want to get into fishing a little more because I know there are a ton of lakes in Minnesota. I’ve mainly only been fishing in the ocean so I know freshwater fishing can be a lot different.

 

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[Game7-91]

General comment just to say thanks to Ted and TD staff for these reports and interviews. Great material and nuggets....we have a knuckleballer!.....when players are more often than not de-personalized as "arms" or "bats" this type of content is a great way to offer balance and background on these guys. So thanks for doing it, and keep up the good work.

[2wins87]

Definitely the most intriguing day 2 pick for me.

Good size, I will be watching to see if the development staff unlock a bit more velocity. 

The national outlets all say the knuckleball is a legitimate weapon; it'll be interesting to see how they approach his pitch mix.  Most likely an eephus-like change of pace pitch for the time being, but something he'll definitely want to keep around as a fallback.

[nicksaviking]

Fantastic job getting some Q&As with these guys so quickly. Exciting stuff considering how much everyone on this site likes discussing the young guys!

[Seth Stohs]

10 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

Definitely the most intriguing day 2 pick for me.

Good size, I will be watching to see if the development staff unlock a bit more velocity. 

The national outlets all say the knuckleball is a legitimate weapon; it'll be interesting to see how they approach his pitch mix.  Most likely an eephus-like change of pace pitch for the time being, but something he'll definitely want to keep around as a fallback.

I agree with this... Without listening back, Sean Johnson said that he's a "kitchen sink" guy. Doesn't throw real hard, maybe 92 with room to increase that potentially, and a ton of pitch options... Now, over time the Twins, with him, will likely talk about the pitch mix, what are effective pitches or not... but Sean said that at least to start, he will throw the knuckleball some... and that it can be a really good pitch as he throws it like 80 mph. So, it's definitely not the traditional knuckler.