Kyle Lewis

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Kyle Alexander Lewis

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Kyle Lewis was a major star in college at Mercer University, being twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year and being named recipient of the Golden Spikes Award as the best college player in the country in 2016, which was his junior year. He was also named Baseball America's College Player of the Year on the strength of a .395 average, 20 homers and 72 RBIs. Not surprisingly given his level of performance, he was discussed as a potential number 1 overall pick in the 2016 amateur draft but in the end fell to the 11th pick, by the Seattle Mariners.

Lewis quickly came to an agreement on a contract with Seattle and began his career with the Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League. After 30 games, he was hitting a solid .299/.385/.530 with 8 doubles, 5 triples and 3 homers, and had scored and driven in 26 runs, when his season was ended on July 19th when he injured his knee in a collision at home plate, tearing his ACL as well as two other ligaments. he also lost playing time in 2017, playing just 49 games between the Class A Modesto Nuts and the AZL Mariners, where he was on a rehabilitation assignment. His batting line was .257/.329/.412 with 7 homers and 31 RBIs.

He was named to the United States team for the 2018 Futures Game. He started the year in Modesto and did alright, hitting .260 with 5 homers and 32 RBIs in 49 games, but after his promotion to the AA Arkansas Travelers on July 21st, he struggled with the bat, hitting just .220 in 37 games the rest of the way. He was back with Arkansas at the start of the 2019 season and had his first truly solid year as he played 122 games, hit .263/.342/.398, banged 25 doubles and 11 homers, scored 61 runs and drove in 62. The Mariners rewarded him with a September call-up and in his first game on September 10th, he started in right field against the Cincinnati Reds and hit his first career homer, a solo shot off Trevor Bauer in the 5th inning, in a 4-3 win. His hit was the first of the night for the M's, and he did it again the next day, turning the trick on Sonny Gray of the Reds, this time homering in the 7th for Seattle's first hit of the night. Once again, his teammates followed his lead, and the Mariners ended up winning, 5-3. On September 12th, he homered in his third straight game, joining Trevor Story as the only players to ever do so. After going homerless for a couple of games, he hit #4 on September 15th, a three-run shot in an 11-10 win over the Chicago White Sox. He finished the year at .262 in 58 games, with 11 homers, 28 RBIs and 37 runs scored. he was the unanimous winner of the 2020 American League Rookie of the Year Award, finishing ahead of a very similar player in Luis Robert, and also joined Robert on the 2020 Topps All-Star Rookie Team.

After his excellent rookie season, Lewis was unable to contribute much, however. In 2021, he appeared in just 36 games and hit .246 with 5 homers and 11 RBIs as an injury to his right knee shortened his playing time considerably. The injury was still bothering him in 2022, and he also had to deal with the effects of a concussion as he played just 18 games and hit .143 while the Mariners finally returned to the postseason after an absence of more than two decades. He was no longer part of the team's plans, and on November 17th was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in return for C/OF Cooper Hummel. The Diamondbacks were betting that he could return to being an elite player if once again healthy.

He was key to the Diamondbacks' first win of the 2023 season on March 31st as he hit a two-run homer off Alex Vesia of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The homer came as a pinch-hitter in the top of the 8th inning to give Arizona a 2-1 win.

Notable Achievements[edit]


AL Rookie of the Year
2019 2020 2021
Yordan Alvarez Kyle Lewis Randy Arozarena

Further Reading[edit]

  • "Mercer's Kyle Lewis wins the Golden Spikes Award", Goldenspikesaward.com, June 30, 2016. [1]
  • Steve Gilbert: "D-backs land 2020 AL ROY Lewis in trade with Mariners: Arizona sends OF/C Hummel to Seattle in return", mlb.com, November 17, 2022. [2]
  • Greg Johns: "Mariners top prospect Lewis ready for spring: Lewis 'doing great,' recovered from knee surgery and working out without limitations", mlb.com, January 5, 2018. [3]
  • Greg Johns: "Kyle Lewis unanimously crowned AL ROY: 25-year-old first Mariners winner since Ichiro in '01", mlb.com, November 9, 2020. [4]
  • Daniel Shirley: "Mercer’s Kyle Lewis named Baseball America’s Player of the Year", The Macon Telegraph, June 7, 2016. [5]
  • Jesse Yomtov: "Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis unanimous choice for AL Rookie of the Year award", USA Today, November 9, 2020. [6]

Related Sites[edit]

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