Brooks Lee Promoted to Triple-A
8/4/2023 11:25:00 AM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Less than 15 months after he was drafted eighth overall in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, Brooks Lee is now in Triple-A.
The 22-year-old former Cal Poly shortstop was promoted on Thursday to the St. Paul Saints, the Minnesota Twins' Triple-A team in the International League.
He is the first player from the first round of the 2022 draft to play at Triple-A. It has been a meteoric rise for one of baseball's best prospects. Zach Neto of the Los Angeles Angels went from Double-A straight to the MLB rather than making a stop at Triple-A.
Lee made his professional debut nearly one year ago to the day, on August 4, 2022. He played four games in the rookie leagues to get his feet wet at the professional level while going 6-for-17 with two doubles.
Most of his pro debut was spent at High-A Cedar Rapids, where he slashed .289/.395/.454 with four doubles and four home runs in 25 games. Wichita was headed to the Texas League playoffs, so the Twins promoted Lee to Double-A for the stretch run. In seven postseason games (three with Cedar Rapids and four with Wichita), Lee hit .400, striking out just twice in 30 at-bats.
After participating in big-league spring training, the Twins assigned Lee to Double-A to start the 2023 season. Lee hit .292/.365/.476 with 11 home runs and 31 doubles. He leads all Double-A hitters with 42 extra-base hits and 31 doubles.
Lee began the season with a 10-game hitting streak and had hits in 16 of the 19 April games. During July, his bat really started to heat up as he slashed .365/.433/.600 with five doubles and five home runs. Before the promotion, he was amid an eight-game hitting streak.
By many national rankings, Lee is the consensus top Twins prospect. MLB Pipeline ranks Lee as baseball's 18th-best prospect, while Baseball America ranks him 34th in their most recent rankings. The switch-hitter has as good contact skills as anyone in the minor leagues, which makes him such an intriguing prospect.
"A jump from college one spring to Double-A the next would be a big challenge for most players, but Lee's pitch recognition has always been strong and it's carried over into pro ball," Keith Law of MLB Pipeline wrote about Lee in his rankings.
St. Paul is in the midst of a six-game series at Columbus, which concludes Sunday. Lee is expected to be in the Saints' lineup Friday. St. Paul will be home for 12 consecutive games the next two weeks, hosting Louisville on August 8-13 and Indianapolis on August 15-20.
Lee led the Texas League with 31 doubles, was sixth with 102 hits, seventh with 61 RBIs, eighth with 63 runs scored and 27th with 11 home runs. He was 16-for-33 (.485) during an eight-game hitting streak for the Wind Surge from July 7-20 with nine runs scored, five doubles, four home runs and 12 RBIs, hiking his average 23 points. He also has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games at Wichita, going 30-for-72 (.417) at the plate with six doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs.
Lee was named the organization's minor league player of the month for July after he hit .365 with five homers and 20 RBI in 20 games while totaling as many walks (10) as strikeouts. Lee is rated as Baseball America's No. 2 prospect in the Twins' farm system behind recent draftee Walker Jenkins.
After recording a .778 OPS through the first two months of the season, Lee has registered a .901 OPS since the start of June. He stood out with his plate discipline and line drive approach.
He has played all but one game at shortstop this season with one start at third base. He committed 13 errors in 711 innings at his primary position.
Meanwhile, former Mustang pitcher Bryan Woo made his 11th career start on the mound for the Seattle Mariners on Thursday against the Angels in Anaheim and turned in another quality start, his third of the year.
Woo, 0-2 with one no-decision and an 8.16 ERA in his last three starts for Seattle, allowed two runs and four hits over six innings with two walks and six strikeouts, leaving the game with his club trailing 2-1.
Shohei Ohtani, who pitched the first four innings for the Angels before leaving the game with cramps in his right hand, belted his league-leading 40th home run of the season for a 3-1 Angels lead in the eighth inning, but the Mariners rallied for four runs in the ninth for a 5-3 victory.
During a streak of six starts from June 10 through July 8, the right-hander posted a 1-0 mark with five no-decisions and a 2.20 ERA, striking out 39 batters over 32 2/3 innings.
Woo, 1-3 with seven no-decisions and a 4.75 ERA, is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday at Seattle against the San Diego Padres.
The 22-year-old former Cal Poly shortstop was promoted on Thursday to the St. Paul Saints, the Minnesota Twins' Triple-A team in the International League.
He is the first player from the first round of the 2022 draft to play at Triple-A. It has been a meteoric rise for one of baseball's best prospects. Zach Neto of the Los Angeles Angels went from Double-A straight to the MLB rather than making a stop at Triple-A.
Lee made his professional debut nearly one year ago to the day, on August 4, 2022. He played four games in the rookie leagues to get his feet wet at the professional level while going 6-for-17 with two doubles.
Most of his pro debut was spent at High-A Cedar Rapids, where he slashed .289/.395/.454 with four doubles and four home runs in 25 games. Wichita was headed to the Texas League playoffs, so the Twins promoted Lee to Double-A for the stretch run. In seven postseason games (three with Cedar Rapids and four with Wichita), Lee hit .400, striking out just twice in 30 at-bats.
After participating in big-league spring training, the Twins assigned Lee to Double-A to start the 2023 season. Lee hit .292/.365/.476 with 11 home runs and 31 doubles. He leads all Double-A hitters with 42 extra-base hits and 31 doubles.
Lee began the season with a 10-game hitting streak and had hits in 16 of the 19 April games. During July, his bat really started to heat up as he slashed .365/.433/.600 with five doubles and five home runs. Before the promotion, he was amid an eight-game hitting streak.
By many national rankings, Lee is the consensus top Twins prospect. MLB Pipeline ranks Lee as baseball's 18th-best prospect, while Baseball America ranks him 34th in their most recent rankings. The switch-hitter has as good contact skills as anyone in the minor leagues, which makes him such an intriguing prospect.
"A jump from college one spring to Double-A the next would be a big challenge for most players, but Lee's pitch recognition has always been strong and it's carried over into pro ball," Keith Law of MLB Pipeline wrote about Lee in his rankings.
St. Paul is in the midst of a six-game series at Columbus, which concludes Sunday. Lee is expected to be in the Saints' lineup Friday. St. Paul will be home for 12 consecutive games the next two weeks, hosting Louisville on August 8-13 and Indianapolis on August 15-20.
Lee led the Texas League with 31 doubles, was sixth with 102 hits, seventh with 61 RBIs, eighth with 63 runs scored and 27th with 11 home runs. He was 16-for-33 (.485) during an eight-game hitting streak for the Wind Surge from July 7-20 with nine runs scored, five doubles, four home runs and 12 RBIs, hiking his average 23 points. He also has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games at Wichita, going 30-for-72 (.417) at the plate with six doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs.
Lee was named the organization's minor league player of the month for July after he hit .365 with five homers and 20 RBI in 20 games while totaling as many walks (10) as strikeouts. Lee is rated as Baseball America's No. 2 prospect in the Twins' farm system behind recent draftee Walker Jenkins.
After recording a .778 OPS through the first two months of the season, Lee has registered a .901 OPS since the start of June. He stood out with his plate discipline and line drive approach.
He has played all but one game at shortstop this season with one start at third base. He committed 13 errors in 711 innings at his primary position.
Meanwhile, former Mustang pitcher Bryan Woo made his 11th career start on the mound for the Seattle Mariners on Thursday against the Angels in Anaheim and turned in another quality start, his third of the year.
Woo, 0-2 with one no-decision and an 8.16 ERA in his last three starts for Seattle, allowed two runs and four hits over six innings with two walks and six strikeouts, leaving the game with his club trailing 2-1.
Shohei Ohtani, who pitched the first four innings for the Angels before leaving the game with cramps in his right hand, belted his league-leading 40th home run of the season for a 3-1 Angels lead in the eighth inning, but the Mariners rallied for four runs in the ninth for a 5-3 victory.
During a streak of six starts from June 10 through July 8, the right-hander posted a 1-0 mark with five no-decisions and a 2.20 ERA, striking out 39 batters over 32 2/3 innings.
Woo, 1-3 with seven no-decisions and a 4.75 ERA, is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday at Seattle against the San Diego Padres.
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