M’s Lewis has come long way from gruesome injury in Everett

By Lauren Smith / The News Tribune

SEATTLE — Braden Bishop remembers the first summer he played baseball with Kyle Lewis. Back in 2017, both Seattle Mariners outfield prospects were in Modesto, Calif., trying to climb the minor-league ranks.

Bishop, a former third-round pick, was in his third professional season out of Washington and Lewis was working his way back from a gruesome knee injury that derailed his pro debut about a month after Seattle drafted him in the first round out of Mercer a year earlier.

Lewis’ injury woes weren’t over — lingering knee problems led to a follow-up surgical procedure later that winter — but even when he wasn’t playing at his full strength, Bishop could see the potential that made Lewis a No. 11 overall pick.

Lewis finished hitting .255/.323/.403 with four doubles, six homers and 24 RBI across 38 games in Modesto that summer, making the jump to High-A after playing only 30 games with Short-A Everett a year earlier, when a play at the plate led to the torn ACL and torn medial and lateral meniscus, and ended his season. His only other pro experience before landing in Modesto full time was playing less than a dozen rookie league games in Arizona on a rehab assignment.

“He was still rehabbing that knee, and I remember seeing him run, seeing him swing,” Bishop said. “I could see what (the Mariners) saw. Obviously he’s battled injuries, but I think it’s a testament to him, and how he handled the adversity, and then obviously he gets the opportunity (in the majors) and he’s played extremely well. But, it doesn’t surprise me how well he’s doing, because I saw it in ‘17 when he wasn’t even completely healthy.”

Lewis doesn’t mention the knee these days. It seems like a distant bad memory. He runs freely at T-Mobile Park as Seattle’s every day center fielder, swings smooth and with power when he’s at the plate and doesn’t let up on the base paths.

Bishop was recalled from the Mariners’ alternate site in Tacoma earlier this week, and is now seeing his teammate, fully healthy, playing at the highest level and performing as well as perhaps any player in baseball nearly halfway through this shortened season.

“To just stay with it like he has, and to build his repertoire like he has … it can be hard,” Bishop said. “I don’t know personally, because I wasn’t a first-rounder, but to get drafted in the first round and have all of these expectations — people saying you should do this, you should do that — and then he gets banged up, and he’s trying to claw back, that can be so mentally tough for somebody. To know that everybody expects him to be this, and (he’s) battling through these injuries. But, he’s just matured so fast from the guy in 2017 until now, he’s just grown.”

Lewis is a special player, Bishop said, and now he’s getting the chance to show it at the big-league level.

Lewis entered Saturday tied for the American League lead with 35 hits. He was slashing at .354/.440/.545 through 27 games with a double, a team-leading six homers, 18 RBI, and 16 walks to 28 strikeouts. He leads qualified rookies in nearly every offensive category, and is a front-runner for the AL Rookie of the Year award.

He shows no signs of slowing down.

“We’re fortunate to see it every day,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I think the thing that sticks out for me more than anything with Kyle is he’s not satisfied. He comes in every day, he’s got a plan, he’s working on things. Even in batting practice some guys get caught up in what their BP looks like or how far they’re hitting it.

“He is very, very structured every day when he comes out, very disciplined in what he’s trying to do, and doesn’t care about the result at all. He just wants to feel right. Make sure he’s attacking the ball the right way, and if he does that, he knows good things are going to happen.

“A really mature approach for a young player.”

The barrage of 12 home runs Lewis has hit in 45 big-league games since his September call-up last season have been a wonder to watch. That he’s logged at least one hit in 21 of the 27 games he’s played in this year, and had 11 multi-hit games, is a stunning start to what figures to be a productive offensive future.

But, perhaps the most impressive trait Lewis has put on display is his poise against major league pitching less than 50 games into his career. Lewis’ 16 walks also lead the Mariners, while his strikeouts have slowed, and he is showing that patience at the plate is a priority to him.

“That’s been huge,” Lewis said. “I’ve been trying to get my walks up so I can get on base more, score more runs in different fashions. … That’s a big thing that I evaluate at the end of the year, is how many walks I have versus strikeouts. So, I’m trying to make sure I keep my walks up, and that’s been encouraging for sure.”

It’s part of the progress Lewis can see unfolding the more games he plays at the big-league level.

“I can feel that development happening,” he said. “I hope it continues, and I expect it to continue. … I want them to be able to count on me to have a professional at-bat when I go up there, and swing at pitches I should be swinging at, and don’t swing at pitches I shouldn’t be.”

“When he gets into the ballpark he’s got a plan,” Servais said. “I throw batting practice to this guy every day on the field, and I can see the adjustment he’s making on a daily basis. He is so focused on — again, not about results — just making sure he’s in a good spot with his preparation.”

Not just in the batter’s box either — he wants to be prepared everywhere. Lewis isn’t solely focused on producing for the Mariners daily at the plate. He prides himself on being able to offer his team positives in every phase of the game.

He wants to make the routine plays he should each time he steps into center field — and maybe even a few highlight-reel catches along the way.

“We all know what he’s done in the batter’s box, and the quality at-bats he’s brought,” Servais said. “In the outfield, in center field, the ground he covers, the jumps he gets on balls, his routes are very consistent and he works at it. He’s out there early every day. … He really wants to be good in center field, and takes a lot of pride in it and it’s paying off for him.”

When the Mariners played against the Dodgers in Los Angeles this week, Lewis showed his range on a deep fly ball off Justin Turner’s bat. It would have at the very least scraped the top of the wall for an extra-base hit, and may have even cleared it for a two-run homer. But, Lewis came racing into frame, his glove hand outstretched as he leaped into the air, and hauled in the unlikely catch.

The Dodgers’ dugout was stunned.

Lewis tossed the ball back in and smiled as he walked back to center. He said he had been working on timing his jumps at the wall.

“I want to be reliable when you put my name in center field in the lineup card,” Lewis said that night. “You know what you’re going to get, you’re going to get my best. I’m going to catch the balls that need to be caught, and make some special plays, too. I’m trying to just be reliable out there.”

Asked to evaluate how this first month of his first full season at the major-league level has played out following Friday night’s series-opening win against the Rangers, Lewis again spoke about being a complete player.

“I think I’m most happy with all-around contributing to the team,” he said. “I think that’s something I’ve been trying to be (is) a player that can contribute in multiple ways. Being able to score a lot of runs is something that I’ve been trying to pride myself on. … And then playing good defense, playing solid defense is something I take pride in.

“So, I think overall what I’m evaluating right now is just, how did I play overall as a whole game? Whole game defense, communicating, little things. Going first-to-third, first-to-home on a double. Those kind of things.”