Mariners' Lewis ready to show out in AFL

What the Mariners have seen from Kyle Lewis through his first year-and-a-half in their organization has been tantalizing. They'd like to see even more of it in the Arizona Fall League.
Seattle's top prospect plans on showcasing his health and productivity in a setting he finds comfortable. After being limited to 79 games in his first two professional seasons -- including 49 in 2017 -- Lewis is one of a host of talented outfielders on the Peoria Javelinas roster.

"I have an apartment down here, so I come down right after the season," Lewis said from Arizona ahead of the Javelinas' third game of the season Thursday at Sloan Park in Mesa. "I've been here for a little while and it's been awesome so far."
Lewis is one of six outfielders on the AFL's most prospect-stacked roster, sharing acreage with position mates from the Atlanta, San Diego and Toronto systems including MLB.com's No. 5 overall prospectRonald Acuña Jr. (Braves) and fifth-ranked Mariners prospect Braden Bishop. The group -- which also includes the Blue Jays' Jonathan Davis, Braves' Jared James and Padres' Franmil Reyes -- features five players who have reached at least Double-A and one who hasn't: Lewis. Baseball's No. 41 overall prospect is eager to test himself among the talented competition.

"I think it's really awesome being able to mingle with other guys that are in similar positions this year," he said.
The Mariners nabbed Lewis, the 2016 Golden Spikes Award winner as the best player in college baseball, out of Mercer University with the 11th overall pick that year. The Georgia native debuted with a flourish. After getting acclimated to pro ball in his first two weeks, Lewis broke out with a .343/.405/.671 slash line in 18 July games. Then things went awry. Lewis sustained a torn ACL as well as tears to his medial and lateral meniscus to bring an end to his rookie year.
Recovery from reconstructive surgery delayed his 2017 debut until June, and in his first game back with Class A Advanced Modesto, Lewis crashed into the center-field wall in pursuit of a ball. That resulted in another disabled list stay that kept him out of action for nearly two more weeks. Following an 11-game rehab stint in the Rookie-level Arizona League, Lewis returned to Modesto on July 20 and posted an overall line of .255/.323/.403 with six homers and 24 RBIs in 38 games.
Then the 22-year-old caught fire when his team needed it most. Lewis batted .393/.414/.607 with a homer, a triple, a double and six RBIs in six playoff games as the Nuts rolled to the California League crown last month. That return to form wouldn't have been possible without the lessons from Lewis' adversity.
"Once I had the setback in my first game back, I just kind of leaned on what I had been working on beforehand," Lewis told MiLB.com in July. "I feel like it didn't really get me down in any way. I just remained optimistic and remained confident that whenever I came back, that would be the right time for me."
Now he's back in Arizona for a much better reason, taking part in baseball's premier showcase offseason circuit.
"I think it's an awesome run league," he said Thursday. "Looking at the (parent-club) jerseys, being able to put on the team jerseys and things like that, it's really exciting, getting the opportunity to be in the big league clubhouse and get that kind of feel.
"For me, it just ups the feeling, knowing that you're representing the team with that uniform."
When healthy, Lewis provides the Mariners a dynamic outfield talent with five tools -- hit, power, run, arm, and field -- that grade at Major League average or above, according to MLB Pipeline. And Lewis is healthy. That's the point he wants to emphasize.
"I feel good, man," he said. "I feel really good. I've gotten myself together and I'm ready to go. For me, I know I can do all the things I need to do without any limitations. For me, it's more a thing of just going out and showing it, but I feel completely confident in everything from the injury. I'm looking forward to it not even being a thing of conversation pretty soon here."