The list of talented and accomplished pro athletes who are 25-and-under in the Twin Cities sports market is perhaps the best thing to point to when thinking optimistically about future championships.
Will Royce Lewis be the next great young Twin Cities athlete?
This market is full of young stars. Is it now Lewis' time to shine?
May 6, 2022 at 8:25PM
The Wild boasts a bevy of such players, led by a quartet of 25-year-olds in Kirill Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway. If you'd prefer we talk a little younger, Matt Boldy (21) has entered the chat.
The Wolves appear to be in good hands for years to come thanks to Anthony Edwards (20) and Jaden McDaniels (21).
The Lynx have Napheesa Collier. The Vikings have Justin Jefferson. Minnesota United has rising goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
The Twins have ... well, they have Joe Ryan who is still 25 for another month and who looks like the real deal. But he's a pitcher and we're still learning about him. For true star potential we must turn our attention instead to shortstop and 2017 No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis.
Twins fans who were rightfully upset when Carlos Correa hurt his finger Thursday were able to feel better imagining that the injury might mean a promotion for Lewis, who has been lighting up Class AAA St. Paul this season.
Young talent is critical to the success of teams in this era of sports for multiple reasons.
The first is visceral: New talent has always energized fan bases, offering hope when there is little reason to otherwise be excited and/or providing a lift to an established team.
The second is practical: Young players in virtually every pro league are inexpensive labor, euphemistically referred to as "cost controlled" until they have enough service time to reach free agency.
The Twins in particular need a player like Lewis to become a high-caliber player for many years — not only because he is a former No. 1 overall pick but because they have payroll constraints.
Whether Lewis joins his local sports peers in excellence remains to be seen, of course. It's unfair to expect so much of someone so young and so new, regardless of pedigree.
But if he does make the leap, Lewis will be in extraordinarily good company.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
