Bobby Witt Jr., Royce Lewis make Royals-Twins a special series

After watching Bobby Witt, Jr. hit a laser of a home run in the first inning Monday, Royce Lewis wanted to match him.

He did.

Now Lewis wants to meet him.

He probably will.

Lewis hit a long two-run home run in the second inning of the Twins’ 8-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals and their great young shortstop, Witt.

If budding stars like Witt and Lewis were playing in New York and Boston, ESPN would follow them like paparazzi. Instead, we are blessed to have them in the Midwest, becoming the kind of stars that feel like family.

“If I can hit a homer along with the MVP of the league, I would love to do that,” Lewis said of Witt. “So, yes, any time he or [Aaron] Judge hit a home run, I’d love to match him.”

Does Lewis enjoy watching Witt play? “I do, absolutely,” Lewis said. “I would love to talk to him, get to know him, get to meet him, learn from him. He’s just a freak athlete. I think he’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime, generational players that, for one, is blessed to be healthy. Most of those kinds of guys that you see, unfortunately, in this sport, they get hurt a lot. Playing 162 games is a grind, and I’d love to talk to him and find out what he’s doing.

“He’s from Texas, so now that I live down there, maybe I can work out with him. That’d be sick. I know it’s in the division, but at the end of the day, we’re all family in the baseball world, because we take care of each other. There’s very few of us, and I think it’s very special to have a bond with those guys.”

Witt is a speedy shortstop with power who is headed toward a batting title in his third season. Lewis is a former shortstop playing third who isn’t as fast as Witt but has proved more powerful.

On-base-plus-slugging percentage is a good snapshot of offensive effectiveness. Witt’s is 1.003. Lewis’ is 1.020. Both are exceptional. The primary difference in their careers has been health. Witt has been durable; Lewis star-crossed.

The Royals took Witt with the second pick in the 2019 draft (behind Orioles star catcher Adley Rutschman). The Twins took Lewis with the first pick in 2017. Both are worth the price of admission even if you buy tickets in the Champions Club.

Monday, Lewis played in his 110th big-league game. He has hit 32 home runs. He’s on pace to hit 47 home runs over his first 162 games. No player in Twins history other than Harmon Killebrew has hit more than 42 home runs in a season.

Lewis also has four home runs in six postseason games. Monday, he became the first Twin to hit his 15th homer in his first 40 games of a season.

“They are going to go back and forth for a long time,” Twins starter Pablo López said.

“There are some amazing, amazing young players in the game right now, and those would be two perfect guys to start that conversation with and use as prime examples,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Baldelli said pitching has never been better, and yet young players like Witt and Lewis arrive in the majors ready to pound it. “Come to the games,” Baldelli said. “Come see it up close, because it’s something else. These guys are doing special things on a nightly basis. The number of times they find the barrel, how hard they actually hit the ball so consistently, they’re doing it and we saw it today.”

Baldelli said that Witt hits line drives that “just keep going, more like a golf balls than baseballs,” and that Lewis is able to use torque and an ideal swing plane to maximize his power.

I have one request: Ten more years of Lewis and Witt playing in two beautiful ballparks in the Midwest, filling summer nights with loud sounds.

Long may they run, and long may they stay.