Kyle Lewis (baseball)

Kyle Alexander Lewis (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Mercer Bears.

Kyle Lewis
Lewis with the Seattle Mariners in 2019
Seattle Mariners – No. 1
Outfielder
Born: (1995-07-13) July 13, 1995
Snellville, Georgia
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 2019, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Batting average.268
Home runs6
Runs batted in13
Teams

Amateur career

Lewis attended Shiloh High School in Snellville, Georgia. He played both baseball and basketball in high school.[1] He chose baseball over basketball and attended Mercer University, where he played college baseball for the Bears. As a freshman in 2014, he appeared in 42 games with 17 starts and hit .281/.340/.382 with two home runs and 17 runs batted in (RBI) over 89 at-bats.[2] After his freshman season he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Cotuit Kettleers.[3] As a sophomore in 2015, he played in 54 games, hitting .367/.423/.677 with 17 home runs and 56 RBI. He was the Southern Conference Baseball Player of the Year and was the co-winner of the Gregg Olson Award.[4][5]

After the season, Lewis returned to the Cape Cod Baseball League, playing for the Orleans Firebirds.[6] As a junior, he hit .395/.535/.731 with 20 home runs and 72 RBI. He was the Southern Conference Baseball Player of the Year for the second straight year and was named Baseball America's College Player of the Year.[7]

Professional career

The Seattle Mariners selected Lewis with the 11th overall pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[8] He made his professional debut with the Everett AquaSox.[9] On June 30, 2016, he won the 2016 Golden Spikes Award. Lewis only played 30 games for the Everett AquaSox due to a right ACL injury,[10] batting .299 with three home runs and 26 RBIs. He spent 2017 with both the AZL Mariners and the Modesto Nuts, posting a combined .257 average with seven home runs and 31 RBIs in 49 games between both clubs, and 2018 with Modesto and the Arkansas Travelers, batting .244 with nine home runs and 52 RBIs in 86 games with the two teams.[11]

Lewis returned to Arkansas for the 2019 season,[12] hitting .263/.343/.398/.741 with 11 home runs and 62 RBI over 122 games.[13]

The Mariners selected Lewis' contract and promoted him to the major leagues on September 10, 2019.[14] Lewis hit a home run off Trevor Bauer in his major league debut that night versus the Cincinnati Reds.[15][16] He hit home runs in each of his next two games as well, becoming the second player in history, after Trevor Story, to homer in each of his first three major league games.[17] He finished the 2019 season with a .268/.293/.592 slash line along with 6 home runs and 13 RBIs in 71 at bats.

References
  1. Jeff J. Snider (June 19, 2015). "Mercer's Kyle Lewis left basketball behind for baseball – Baseball Essential". Baseball Essential.
  2. Will Hammock (April 22, 2015). "GWINNETT GRADS: Shiloh's Lewis an offensive force for Mercer baseball". Gwinnett Daily Post.
  3. "#7 Kyle Lewis - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  4. "Shiloh grad Lewis makes rapid ascent at Mercer". Gwinnett Daily Post. March 10, 2016.
  5. staff reports (July 2, 2015). "Shiloh grad, Mercer OF Lewis wins Gregg Olson Award". Gwinnett Daily Post.
  6. "Cape League spotlight: Kyle Lewis, Orleans". capecodtimes.com.
  7. "College Player Of The Year: Lewis Powers Away From Field". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  8. Johns, Greg (September 3, 2019). "Seattle drafts Mercer OF Lewis in first round". M.mlb.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  9. Mariners top draft pick makes pro debut at Gesa Stadium
  10. "Dean Kremer Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Milb.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  11. "Kyle Lewis Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  12. Weinberg, Becca (April 5, 2019). "Mariners Moose Tracks, 4/5/19: Kyle Lewis, Jacob deGrom, and Alex Morgan". Lookout Landing. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  13. RotoWire Staff (September 8, 2019). "Mariners' Kyle Lewis: Raking in Texas League playoffs". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  14. MarinersPR (September 10, 2019). "Mariners Select Justin Dunn, Kyle Lewis, Donnie Walton and Art Warren from AA Arkansas". MLB.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  15. Greg Johns (September 11, 2019). "Lewis' 1st homer 'like an out-of-body experience'". MLB.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  16. Brent Stecker (September 10, 2019). "Watch: Mariners 2016 1st-round pick Kyle Lewis homers in MLB debut". 710 ESPN Seattle. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  17. "Lewis leads rookie-laden lineup with third homer". MLB.com. September 13, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
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