Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Knuckleball: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Lewis was a solid two-way player at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, Calif., before heading to join a Santa Barbara program that has produced first-round arms like Michael McGreevy last year and Dillon Tate in 2015, not to mention Shane Bieber in 2016. After redshirting in 2020, Lewis spent most of 2021 pitching capably as a starter before helping the Gauchos win the Big West title again as their all-conference Friday night starter.

The 6-foot-5 Lewis brings a unique array of pitches to the mound, all coming from an athletic frame. While his fastball typically sits in the 90-92 mph range, topping out at 95, he uses excellent extension and high spin rates to get swings and misses on the pitch up in the zone. He throws a solid 11-to-5 downer of a curveball in the upper 70s that misses bats consistently. He’s fiddled with a work-in-progress changeup and mixes in an occasional cutter, though that might be his worst pitch. 

Lewis also throws a legitimate knuckleball that he would float up around 80 mph that confounded hitters and catchers alike. Though he didn’t throw it much, it’s the kind of pitch he could turn to if being a “regular” pitcher doesn’t work out. Generally a strike-thrower, Lewis got tired at the end of the season and his command suffered, but his combination of size, interesting stuff and strong analytics, not to mention the track record of his school, should have teams interested in seeing how it works at the next level.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Knuckleball: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Lewis wasn’t ready to compete when he first got to Santa Barbara as a freshman in 2020 and didn’t throw a pitch in the pandemic-shortened season, taking what would be a non-injury redshirt. He spent most of the next two years in the Gauchos rotation, and pitched well enough as their Friday night guy in 2022 for the Twins to take him in the ninth round of the Draft that summer. He signed for $140,000 and gave some early return on that investment by pitching his way from Single-A to High-A in 2023, leading all pitchers in the organization who threw more than 100 innings in a host of categories, including ERA, batting average against and K/9. A right shoulder impingement kept him off of a competitive mound until the end of May in 2024, though he was throwing well in Double-A as the season wrapped up.

While Lewis is big (6-foot-5) and athletic, he’s more of a pitchability right-hander than a stuff guy at present, though he does have a legitimate knuckleball. He doesn’t throw it that often, but it’s been an effective low-80s offering that few hitters know what to do with. Right now, his fastball tops out at around 93 mph, but thanks to his extension and spin rates, he can miss bats with it and he came to an early camp to work on the Twins’ velocity training which has teased more speed out of many arms in the system. His 11-to-5 upper-70s curve has good downer shape to it, he’ll throw a mid-80s slider that’s harder and shorter, and he can kill spin with his changeup.

Lewis’s effectiveness was helped by the fact he’s around the plate with all of his offerings, finding the zone more consistently than he did in college. He’s super competitive on the mound, but his ceiling is limited to a back-end starter unless he does find a little more velocity.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Knuckleball: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Santa Barbara has built a deserved reputation of producing impressive pitchers, boasting former first-round picks like Michael McGreevy in 2021 and Dillon Tate in 2015 and, of course, Shane Bieber, a fourth-rounder in 2016. Lewis wasn’t quite as highly regarded, but after two years pitching mostly out of the Gauchos rotation, he pitched well enough for the Twins to take him in the ninth round of the 2022 Draft, and he got off to a solid start during his pro debut with Single-A Fort Myers in 2023.  

At 6-foot-5 with an athletic frame, Lewis has a unique four-pitch mix at his disposal. His fastball sits in the low 90s, and he can reach back for a little more while using his excellent extension and spin rates to miss bats with it up in the zone. His upper-70s curve has 11-to-5 downer shape to it that could serve as an out pitch and has shown some ability to mix in a spin-killing changeup as well, and he’s also experimented with a cutter at times in the past.

Perhaps the biggest development early on in Lewis’ pro career has his been commitment to throwing his knuckleball. It was more of a novelty in college, but he’s been throwing it more during his first season and getting a lot of swings and misses with it. He’s also been throwing strikes more consistently than he did at UCSB, giving him a better chance of reaching his ceiling of a back-end starter.

Awards

MiLB.com Organization All-Star

Year	Team
2023

FSL Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
05/14/2023

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	09/16/2024	RHP Cory Lewis assigned to St. Paul Saints from Wichita Wind Surge.
	09/16/2024	St. Paul Saints activated RHP Cory Lewis.
	06/26/2024	Wichita Wind Surge activated RHP Cory Lewis.
	06/19/2024	Wichita Wind Surge transferred RHP Cory Lewis to the Development List.
	06/11/2024	Wichita Wind Surge activated RHP Cory Lewis from the 60-day injured list.
	06/06/2024	Wichita Wind Surge sent RHP Cory Lewis on a rehab assignment to Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
	05/24/2024	Wichita Wind Surge sent RHP Cory Lewis on a rehab assignment to FCL Twins.
	05/24/2024	Wichita Wind Surge sent RHP Cory Lewis on a rehab assignment to FCL Twins.
	04/29/2024	Wichita Wind Surge transferred RHP Cory Lewis from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Right shoulder impingement.
	04/05/2024	RHP Cory Lewis assigned to Wichita Wind Surge. Right shoulder impingement.
	06/05/2023	RHP Cory Lewis assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels from Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
	06/05/2023	Cedar Rapids Kernels activated RHP Cory Lewis.
	06/05/2023	Cedar Rapids Kernels activated RHP Cory Lewis.
	04/02/2023	RHP Cory Lewis assigned to Fort Myers Mighty Mussels from FCL Twins.
	08/11/2022	RHP Cory Lewis assigned to FCL Twins.
	07/26/2022	Minnesota Twins signed RHP Cory Lewis.
	06/11/2022	College Workout activated RHP Cory Lewis.
	06/11/2022	RHP Cory Lewis assigned to College Workout.
	03/14/2022	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos activated RHP Cory Lewis.
	03/14/2022	RHP Cory Lewis assigned to UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
	04/30/2017	RHP Cory Lewis assigned to Marina HS Vikings.