Royce’s Pieces

Royce Lewis (MIN): 1-3, HR, R, RBI.

Third baseman Royce Lewis hit his 13th home run of the year last night. Lewis put the Minnesota Twins on the board with a 104.2 mph, 421-foot no-doubter in the fifth inning.

Lewis has been on a hot streak since the All-Star break as he has three home runs, four stolen bases, a .281/.356/.516/.872 line, and a 138 wRC+ in 73 plate appearances. The extra time off may have been a difference-maker for Lewis after battling knee and hamstring injuries earlier this season, which led to him being briefly demoted to Triple-A. Since the start of the second half, Lewis has a 94.0 mph average exit velocity, a 13.0% barrel rate, and a 50.0% hard hit rate. August has been especially good to him, hitting 9-for-19 with two homers and four RBI in his last five games.

Royce Lewis has repeatedly shown what he can do when he’s swinging a hot bat, and it looks the second half of this season could be yet another ticket to The Royce Lewis Show in Minnesota.

 

Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday:

Kevin McGonigle (DET): 2-3, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB.

Ah, finally a column where we can tune out the controversy coming out of Detroit. Let’s sink into a warm bubble bath and enjoy some Kevin McGonigle highlight reels.

Yesterday’s performance marked McGonigle’s 12th homer and 74th run scored of the season. While hitting leadoff for the Detroit Tigers has only produced 44 RBI, McGonigle is proving that he has the star quality to hold the role long-term. Hopefully, as the Tigers continue to stock the cupboard and bolster their offense, we’ll see more of an uptick there.

Dillon Dingler (DET): 2-3, HR, R, 3 RBI.

While names like McGonigle and Skubal may be stealing the show in Detroit, Dillon Dingler has proven he deserves the spotlight too. The aptly nicknamed “Dillon Dinger” hit his 26th homer off Bryce Miller in the first inning to open up the scoring quickly for the Tigers. Mr. Dinger has cemented his status as one of baseball’s top catchers, with his 26 home runs behind only Hunter Goodman (33) and tied for ninth in the league with Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Phew. That’s solid company to be in!

Dingler has the tools to back it up too with an 89.2 mph average exit velocity, 11.7% barrel rate, and 44.7% hard hit rate. He’s also managed to maintain that power while lowering his strikeout rate to 22.1% and his BABIP to .306. It’d be hard to craft a more sustainable profile if I tried.

 

Nathaniel Lowe (CLE): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.

Traded to the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline on Monday, Nathaniel Lowe has been off to a blistering start in Cleveland. Yesterday’s homer was a scorching 111.7 mph, 413-foot bomb that puts Lowe up to 4-for-12 with five RBI in three games with his new team. Lowe has slotted right into the Guardians’ clean up spot, playing at first base, and will likely see some playing time at DH as well.

Pro tip: If you can’t remember how his last name is pronounced, just think “There’s nothing Lowe about him.”

 

Zach Neto (LAA): 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Moving away from the AL Central, Zach Neto appears quite happy that he made it through the trade deadline without switching teams. Neto crossed the 20 homer and 50 RBI thresholds with yesterday’s performance. In the third inning, the young shortstop hit a three-run, 105.0 mph, 411-foot bomb to give the Los Angeles Angels a 4-1 lead that they would hold onto for the win. 2026 hasn’t been without it’s growing pains for Neto, as his 79 Decision Value (95 zDV/91 oDV) is one of the worst marks by an everyday starter. It’s worth holding out hope for brighter days, however, as a 120 Power and 124 HR Power are both elite grades that rank first and third respectively amongst shortstops.

 

Marcus Semien (NYM): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

Father time has finally caught up to Marcus Semien this season. While Semien finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in this one, it’d have been a weak cycle as his home run wasn’t barreled and clocked in at only 96.3 mph.

The needle has been pointing down for Semien since his MVP season. However, a career-low .241 BABIP, alongside a 64 Pitch Runs value, has him as the most unlucky hitter in baseball right now, so maybe there’s some positive regression here over the final stretch of the season. Semien has kicked off August hitting 5-for-17 with a homer and a 4:1 BB:K ratio so far. If he keeps hitting, I might take the flier and see what he has left in the tank.

 

Andrés Giménez (TOR): 3-4, 2B, R, BB, 2 SB.

The Toronto Blue Jays blew a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth to the Chicago Cubs that would eventually lead to a loss in extra innings. Other than a brilliant catch by Ernie Clement, the bright spot for the Jays in this one was Andrés Giménez. Giménez swiped a pair of bags for his 14th and 15th stolen bases of the year, as he attempted to help the Jays extend the lead by putting runners in scoring position. Unfortunately, this has been a death knell in the John Schneider-era, and yesterday was no exception as the Jays went a franchise-worst 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Sigh.

 

Andrew Pinckney (WSN): 1-2, HR, R, RBI.

After serving as a pinch-runner on Wednesday, Andrew Pinckney went deep in his first major league start yesterday. It was a statement performance too, as he immediately set his maximum velocity at 109.3 mph in his debut. While it was an injury to James Wood that opened up playing time here, and the Washington Nationals have a crowded outfield, Pinckney shouldn’t be overlooked. The 25-year-old has notched 13 homers and 18 steals in Triple-A this season to follow up his 20-homer, 34-steal 2025 season.

The major flaw in Pinckney’s game is the swing-and-miss that has led to a 30.9% strikeout rate in Triple-A. While that shouldn’t be dismissed easily, any improvements the rookie outfielder can make on that figure in the majors could spell a dangerous breakout player worth putting on your radar now. It may never come to fruition, but if that breakout does happen, you’ll be glad you got there first.

 

Yohel Pozo (BAL): 1-3, HR, R, RBI.

The Baltimore Orioles claimed Yohel Pozo off waivers on July 23rd. Between Samuel Basallo’s IL stint and Adley Rutschman going over to Boston at the trade deadline, Pozo has now found himself receiving regular playing time in the majors. The 29-year-old journeyman hit his first homer of the season yesterday afternoon to open up the scoring for the Orioles. While power was a major part of his calling card, hitting 33 homers in Triple-A from 2023-2024, Pozo struggled with concussions last season and currently has an 87.4 average exit velocity, 2.7% barrel rate, and 24.3% hard hit rate in 2026.