Twins third baseman could be MLB's next superstar

Lewis missed 58 games earlier this year due to a right quad strain after playing in Minnesota's season-opener.

With his 1-for-3 performance at the plate on Thursday, he's batting .377 with a .925 slugging percentage this year. Lewis also walked twice, increasing his on-base average to .452.

ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan praised Lewis following his Thursday home run while noting his incredible numbers in 90 MLB games, including the postseason.

As Passan notes, Lewis' health is his only cause for concern.

In February 2021, Lewis tore his ACL in his right knee during offseason workouts. He tore the same ACL 16 months later, in June 2022, after only 12 games.

Per Baseball Savant, among hitters with at least 25 batted-ball events (BBE) in 2024, he has the league's highest barrel rate per plate appearance (15.8 percent), slightly ahead of Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (15.5 percent).

According to MLB.com, "barrels" are BBEs with an exit velocity of at least 98 mph. At that speed, they must also have a launch angle between 26 and 30 degrees, and that angle widens the faster the ball comes off the bat.

Simply put, barrel rate is a valuable metric because those events often lead to successful at-bats. As MLB.com notes, in 2016, barreled balls resulted in an .822 batting average and 2.386 slugging percentage. 

Lewis also belted a home run on Wednesday and has four in his last five games.

He's appointment viewing when he steps into the batter's box, at least until pitchers stop throwing to him.