KYLE LEWIS

Outfielder | 6-foot-4, 205 pounds | Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Age: 24

Mariners prospect ranking: No. 10 (MLB Pipeline), No. 10 (Baseball America)

Path to Peoria: Drafted in the first round (No. 11 overall) by the Mariners in 2016 out of Georgia’s Mercer University, but a major knee injury shortly hampered his progress for much of his first three professional seasons, when he logged just 165 games between the AZL Mariners, Short-A Everett, High-A Modesto and Double-A Arkansas. He played his first full season in 2019, opening the year in Arkansas and finishing it in Seattle. He made his major league debut on Sept. 10 against Cincinnati, and homered off Trevor Bauer for his first hit. This is his second major league camp invite, and just his second full spring training without the lingering knee issues.

Projected debut year: 2019

Scouting report: What most will remember about last September is how Lewis arrived in Seattle, at the end of another disappointing Mariners season, and tore up big league pitching, homering in his first three major league games and finishing with six in the 18 games he played in the final month. But, what’s more impressive, is how quickly Lewis broke out offensively considering he spent the first three seasons of his professional career trying to put a major knee injury in the past. He logged just 711 plate appearances across those first three seasons, but still showed enough promise to start 2019 with Arkansas. He tallied 517 plate appearances with the Travelers in his first injury-free season, batting .263/.342/.398 in a park that isn’t hitter-friendly. The Mariners brought him up to debut Sept. 10, and he slashed at .268/.293/.592 during with five doubles, the six homers and 13 RBI. Perhaps the pace he had last fall at the plate isn’t sustainable, but he does have a team-high three homers — he flashed his opposite-field power with a grand slam over the weekend — two weeks into spring training games. Most of his outfield experience in the minors came in center, but he projects as a corner outfielder for the Mariners, likely making the Opening Day lineup with center fielder Mallex Smith and outfield prospect Jake Fraley.

By the numbers: Lewis made MLB history when he joined the Mariners, becoming the first player to hit a home run in six of his first 10 games. One of those, a 457-foot blast off Cincinatti’s Lucas Sims on Lewis’ second day in the majors, was the longest Mariners dinger of 2019.

Quotable: On the youthful atmosphere in spring camp — “Everybody is in tune and they’re trying to get better. That is really nice to be around. ... A lot of guys want to make their mark. That can lead to good things.”

MARINERS FACES OF THE FUTURE

Perhaps the power showcase Kyle Lewis put on in Seattle last fall isn’t sustainable forever — but it sure was fun to watch.

In a short 18-game stint with the Mariners last September, the rookie outfielder churned out six home runs, igniting a fan base that was beyond ready to say goodbye to another losing season.

Even he was a bit surprised out how quickly his power played in the big leagues.

“I just tried to hit the ball hard,” Lewis said. “I think if I can do that consistently, then we get on hot streaks where they’re going over the fence.

“I knew I was capable of doing things like that. I didn’t think it would be immediately. But, you never know.”

Lewis the only player in big league history to homer in six of his first 10 career games, and just the second player to homer in each of his first three games, joining Colorado’s Trevor Story, who accomplished the same in 2016.

“Obviously Kyle got off to a great start for us, and it was certainly something that we needed organizationally,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He’s a first-round pick. You like those guys to show up and kind of excite your fan base right out of the chute, and I think he did that.”

Lewis has added three more homers this spring — including a grand slam against the Dodgers that produced the game-winning run Friday night — and leads the Mariners in that category.

Of course, he isn’t expected to crank out home runs at a pace of every three games in what is projected to be his first full season as a major leaguer, but Seattle believes he can offer consistent plate appearances moving forward if necessary adjustments to big league pitching are made.

“You have to get your feet wet,” Servais said. “You see how they do. He obviously got off to a great start, and then they started attacking him a little differently in the strike zone. Kyle has all kinds of power. He does have some swing-and-miss in his game. It doesn’t mean he can’t be a really productive major league player, but narrowing or shrinking those areas they can attack within the strike zone is important to him.

“I’ve been really impressed with how he’s looked this spring and how he’s handled everything. As good a start as he got off to, he did learn a lot because he struggled a little bit probably the last 10 games or so in the big leagues — which isn’t a bad thing. It gives him something to focus on over the winter and here in the spring.”

Lewis lived and worked out in Atlanta this offseason, adding more running to a routine that already included speed and agility work, and like so many others in this camp, arrived in Arizona ready to seize an opportunity.

He’s appeared in both left and right field this spring — and is expected to be in the Opening Day lineup at one of those two positions — and has a team-leading seven RBI, is slugging at .538, and despite hitting just 5-for-26 (.192) in 10 games is making good swing decisions and contact.

“I just want to be ready for the season in whatever capacity that looks like,” Lewis said. “I just want to be ready and feel like I’m playing well so that going into the season I can contribute to the team.”

It’s a similar attitude that many in this young clubhouse have displayed.

“The energy is high,” Lewis said. “Everybody is working. When we do drill work, everybody is working. Everybody is in tune and they’re trying to get better. That is really nice to be around. ... A lot of guys want to make their mark. That can lead to good things.”

Lewis said he wants to cherish the opportunity to be an everyday player this season at such a young age — because opportunity can come and go so quickly.

“I just want to look back at the end and know I applied myself every day, and gave it my best shot,” he said. “I feel like that’s kind of my main goal is to not leave anything on the table.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 9:48 AM.

Lauren Smith

The News Tribune

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Lauren Smith is a sports reporter at The News Tribune. She has covered high school sports for TNT and The Olympian, as well as the Seattle Mariners and Washington Huskies. She is a graduate of UW and Emerald Ridge High School.