During the offseason, Mercer outfielder Kyle Lewis made it a priority to improve his plate discipline, after striking out 41 times compared to just 19 walks in 54 games during the 2015 season.
It didn’t take long for Lewis to translate his hard work to success in the batter’s box. From Game 1 of the 2016 season, Lewis displayed a better approach at the plate.
A first-team All-American, Lewis finished the 2016 season with a .395 batting average, 20 home runs and 72 RBIs, along with 66 walks and 48 strikeouts in 61 games.
“I think I did really well with just trying to relax,” Lewis said. “Swinging at good pitches I could hit and handle. I think that really helped my overall hitting, and I was able to raise my overall average because of it. Hopefully in the future I can continue to develop that part of my game.”
Now with his junior season at Mercer over, Lewis can focus his attention solely on the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft. After an impressive season, Lewis will likely be a top five pick in the draft on June 9.
“We’ve been trying to prepare for the draft both mentally and physically,” Lewis said. “It is an exciting time for us. It is kind of a relief to be able to actually think about what’s next.”
Lewis hasn’t participated in any pre-draft workouts with teams and said he isn’t planning on doing any prior to the draft.
While Lewis doesn’t have any expectations for draft night, he’s eager and a little nervous to see what happens.
“I do know it’s going to be exciting and the week leading up to the draft will be exciting for me,” Lewis said. “I expect the nerves to be building up every day. It will be a high stress, high energy day. I don’t really know what to expect in terms of where I’m going to get picked or anything like that.”
Read my previous feature articles on Kyle Lewis here:
Over the last few months I’ve interviewed 31 of the top MLB Draft prospects. Read my profiles on these draft prospects here.
