Woo, Lee Selected as Top Pro Prospects in Summer Collegiate Leagues
8/27/2019 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A pair of Cal Poly baseball players have been selected by Perfect Game as the top professional prospect in their summer collegiate league.
Incoming freshman Brooks Lee is the No. 1 prospect from the West Coast League while Mustang sophomore-to-be right-hander Bryan Woo was chosen as the top pro prospect in the Alaska Baseball League.
Playing for the Peninsula Oilers this summer, Woo (pictured at right) averaged more than a strikeout per inning, a precursor to his strong summer.
It its story on the league's top five pro prospects, Perfect Game wrote that Woo "offers athleticism on the mound and that should lend itself to future positive development.
"The carrying tool in Alaska was a fastball that rushed up on hitters, especially in shorter spurts," the story added. "The velocity was 92-95 mph but there was a late life that seemed to overwhelm hitters. Woo's upside could be seen in a very strong 12.9 strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio for the summer."
A graduate of Alameda High School, Woo went 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in the regular season at Peninsula and also had one at-bat, stroking a two-run single to cap a four-run 12th-inning rally as the Oilers defeated Chugiak-Eagle River 6-2 on July 20. He was the winning pitcher as well with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts.
Woo also went 5 1/3 innings on the mound in a playoff game against Anchorage, striking out seven and allowing one run and two hits, but Peninsula lost the game 4-0.
At Cal Poly last spring, Woo started four games and appeared in 10 others, posting a 1-2 record with 27 strikeouts over 23 2/3 innings. He earned his win March 9 in the second game of a doubleheader against Columbia, allowing two earned runs and five hits over five innings.
Lee (pictured at left), ranked as the No. 37 overall prospect going into the Major League draft in June, hit .342 for the Corvallis Knights this summer, driving in 30 runs in 37 games. The shortstop was named to the All-West Coast League first team on Monday and WCL commissioner Rob Neyer also announced Lee as the winner of the league's Top Prospect Award.
Despite being selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 35th round, Lee decided to head to college and play for his dad, Larry Lee, at Cal Poly. He thrived with the Knights this summer in his first taste of college baseball as the switch-hitter played outstanding defense for the league champion Knights.
"After turning down the San Francisco Giants and life changing money in the 35th round of this years' draft to play for his dad, Cal Poly has to be licking its lips at the projectables of their next star infielder," wrote Perfect Game. "The incoming Big West freshman impressed on both sides of the ball this summer as many coaches raved about his above-and-beyond glove tool and mature baseball IQ.
"He may not possess the quickest feet in the world, but his ability to not take the extra step and get rid of the ball quickly is unparalleled," the story added. "Lee has a short compact stroke that consistently hits the ball hard from both sides of the plate and he was a headache for opposing pitchers all summer long.
"His discipline and competitiveness at the dish are advanced as he only struck out 16 times through 146 at bats. He'll make an immediate impact for the Mustangs and his already plus tools will only continue to fine tune under the direction of his father."
Lee went 7-for-14 with five RBIs in the championship series against Victoria and 8-for-28 in the WCL playoffs. He produced a pair of three-hit games in the championship series, including a three-run home run that highlighted a seven-run fourth-inning rally in the opener.
During the regular season, Lee had 12 doubles, two home runs and stole 12 of 19 bases. Perfect Game ranks Lee No. 26 overall and eighth at shortstop nationally. In California, he was ranked No. 2 overall and first at shortstop.
The Knights swept the league's top awards with Brooke Knight named coach of the year, University of Utah slugger Briley Knight selected as the WCL's MVP and Tevita Gerber of Dixie State tabbed as WCL Pitcher of the Year.
The Corvallis Knights were the most represented squad on the All-WCL first team with eight selections.
