Brooks Lee Dazzles in MLB Debut
7/5/2024 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Just five hours after learning he had been called up to the Major Leagues for the first time, Brooks Lee took the field at Target Field.
Two singles and an RBI later, Lee was happy with his Big League debut Wednesday night, though the Minnesota Twins fell to the Detroit Tigers 9-2.
Batting eighth, playing third base in place of the injured Royce Lewis and wearing No. 72, Lee handled a pair of fielding chances cleanly and went 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI.
After receiving a standing ovation, Brooks was called out on strikes in the second inning, taking all five pitches delivered by Keider Montero.
"It was awesome. I didn't even know how to act," Lee said of the standing ovation prior to his first plate appearance. "I was like, 'I don't know what to do right now.' It was super special and that's just what the Minnesota fans are like. I'm just so happy to be playing in front of them."
Ranked 13th overall by MLB Pipeline, Lee lined a two-out single off Montero past a diving Patrick McKinstry into center field in the fourth inning for his first Major League hit.
"I came up and was like, 'If I get a fastball, I'm going to do some damage,' and sure enough, I did," Lee told Patrick Donnelly of MLB.com.
Facing Montero again in the seventh, this time with no outs, Lee lined another single to center field, scoring Byron Buxton from second base for his first Major League RBI and trimming Detroit's lead to 7-2.
"It never gets old for us to watch young men out there achieving their dreams right before your eyes," said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. "I was really happy for him. He's worked really hard to get here and he's a good young player."
Lee flied out to left field ending the eighth inning for the Twins.
He caught a line drive off the bat of Detroit's Matt Vierling in the seventh inning and threw out Gio Urshela on a grounder in the ninth frame.
Prior to the game, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said of Lee, "I think more than anything, what we see is a really mature kid who has progressed exceptionally well at every level and is now ready to be a Major Leaguer.
"He's going to try and do his best to step in and hopefully be a big part of our team going forward," Falvey added.
Lee became the 24th former Cal Poly baseball player ever to play in the Major Leagues and the 15th under current head coach and father, Larry Lee.
"Liz (Larry's wife), Jenna (Brooks' sister) and myself are very proud of Brooks and the road he has taken to get to where he is at," said Larry Lee. "He has put in so much time to improve day after day.
"It's a goal and a dream that he has had since he was very young," the 22-year Mustang mentor added. "It's a very emotional moment for our entire family."
Brooks didn't have to travel far to make it to Target Field. Earlier in the day, he was scheduled to play for the Triple-A Saint Paul Saints against Gwinnett at CHS Field in downtown St. Paul, about a 13-minute drive from Target Field.
A 2019 graduate of San Luis Obispo High School, Brooks earned his promotion by slashing .329/.394/.635 in 20 games so far this season at Saint Paul. Among his 28 hits are five doubles and seven home runs, driving in 21 runs.
During a nine-game hitting streak in late June, Brooks went 16-for-39 (.410) at the plate with 14 RBIs, lifting his average 58 points to .361. He produced five multiple-hit games during the run and homered twice with five RBIs against Toledo on June 20, one day after doubling three times versus the Mud Hens. Brooks also hit a three-run home run against Gwinnett on Tuesday.
Brooks' rise through the minor leagues was a quick one.
Drafted eighth overall by the Twins in the 2022 MLB Draft, Lee played four games for the Florida Complex League's Twins, hitting .353, before he was assigned to Cedar Rapids for most of the rest of the summer, hitting .289 with four home runs and 12 RBIs.
Brooks also played in the final two games of the regular season at Wichita, going 3-for-8, and played in five Texas League playoff games for Wichita. He went 5-for-8 as the Wind Surge's designated hitter in the two-game championship finals against Frisco.
Lee started the 2023 campaign at Wichita and hit .292 in 87 games before he was elevated to Saint Paul and hit .237 across 38 contests. For the summer, Lee produced 39 doubles, 16 home runs and knocked in 84 runs with 34 multiple-hit contests.
Lee missed the first six weeks of the 2024 campaign due to a herniated disc in his lower back. After 10 rehab games — five each with the Twins' Florida Complex League team and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels — compiling a .395 average with three doubles and five RBIs, he was promoted back to Triple-A Saint Paul on June 5.
Lee, 23, is the highest overall pick out of Cal Poly as well as the fourth player from the school taken in the first round (including supplemental picks).
Lee earned five All-America awards following the 2022 season, including first-team nods from Collegiate Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was a first-team pick on two of the six All-American teams in 2021 as well.
Named winner of the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top collegiate shortstop following the 2022 season, Brooks hit .357 in his second full campaign at Cal Poly with 25 doubles, 15 home runs and 55 RBIs. He led the Big West in hits, walks, doubles, home runs, runs scored, RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases and was second in batting average and on-base percentage.
Fifth in the nation in doubles, Lee produced hitting streaks of 19 and 12 games in 2022 and led the Mustangs with 26 multiple-hit games and 16 multiple-RBI contests, becoming only the second player in Big West history to earn the conference's field player of the year award twice. Mark Kotsay of Cal State Fullerton accomplished the same feat in 1995 and 1996.
Brooks, who missed nearly all of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season following knee and hamstring surgeries, earned 2021 co-Big West Player of the Year honors by hitting .342 with 10 home runs, 57 RBIs and a school-record 27 doubles. He further solidified his bona fides as one of the top college bats in the class by hitting very well both for Team USA and in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2021.
Lee might have made the Twins' roster coming out of Spring Training if he hadn't strained his back in late March. Lewis and shortstop Carlos Correa were sidelined by injuries early in the 2024 season.
Lewis left Tuesday's game against Detroit in the sixth inning with tightness in his left groin, an injury he suffered after hitting a two-run double in the third inning. On Wednesday, Lewis was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a right adductor strain, making room for Lee.
Lee is the fourth player taken in the first round of the 2022 Draft to reach the Major Leagues, behind the Angels' Zach Neto (April 15, 2023), Baltimore's Jackson Holliday (April 10, 2024) and Colorado's Jordan Beck (April 30, 2024). The last Twins first-round pick to reach the Majors in a shorter time was right-hander Matt Garza, who was their No. 1 pick in 2005 and made his MLB debut on Aug. 11, 2006.
"[Lee's] been playing so well at the Triple-A level," Baldelli said. "He's had excellent at-bats. He's a very good, reliable defender all over the field. And he's put himself on the map very quickly, from the time he's been drafted until now. We feel like he's ready for this challenge."
A day prior to Brooks' promotion, he was selected to participate in the 2024 MLB All-Star Futures Game and the Futures Skills Showcase on July 13 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Because Brooks' promotion was made just five hours prior to Wednesday's first pitch, his parents weren't able to catch a flight from California in time to see his debut in person. Brooks' girlfriend, Delanie Dunkle, a senior on Cal Poly's women's tennis team this season, was in attendance, as well as Jay and Sherri Black, his host family from the summer he spent playing for the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League.
Lee's parents flew overnight to Minneapolis and likely will arrive in time for Thursday's 12:10 p.m. Central Time series finale against the Tigers. Brooks knows what he'll do with the ball from his first hit.
"I've given them to my dad at every level," Lee said. "I plan on doing the same thing."
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Just five hours after learning he had been called up to the Major Leagues for the first time, Brooks Lee took the field at Target Field.
Two singles and an RBI later, Lee was happy with his Big League debut Wednesday night, though the Minnesota Twins fell to the Detroit Tigers 9-2.
Batting eighth, playing third base in place of the injured Royce Lewis and wearing No. 72, Lee handled a pair of fielding chances cleanly and went 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI.
After receiving a standing ovation, Brooks was called out on strikes in the second inning, taking all five pitches delivered by Keider Montero.
"It was awesome. I didn't even know how to act," Lee said of the standing ovation prior to his first plate appearance. "I was like, 'I don't know what to do right now.' It was super special and that's just what the Minnesota fans are like. I'm just so happy to be playing in front of them."
Ranked 13th overall by MLB Pipeline, Lee lined a two-out single off Montero past a diving Patrick McKinstry into center field in the fourth inning for his first Major League hit.
"I came up and was like, 'If I get a fastball, I'm going to do some damage,' and sure enough, I did," Lee told Patrick Donnelly of MLB.com.
Facing Montero again in the seventh, this time with no outs, Lee lined another single to center field, scoring Byron Buxton from second base for his first Major League RBI and trimming Detroit's lead to 7-2.
"It never gets old for us to watch young men out there achieving their dreams right before your eyes," said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. "I was really happy for him. He's worked really hard to get here and he's a good young player."
Lee flied out to left field ending the eighth inning for the Twins.
He caught a line drive off the bat of Detroit's Matt Vierling in the seventh inning and threw out Gio Urshela on a grounder in the ninth frame.
Prior to the game, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said of Lee, "I think more than anything, what we see is a really mature kid who has progressed exceptionally well at every level and is now ready to be a Major Leaguer.
"He's going to try and do his best to step in and hopefully be a big part of our team going forward," Falvey added.
Lee became the 24th former Cal Poly baseball player ever to play in the Major Leagues and the 15th under current head coach and father, Larry Lee.
"Liz (Larry's wife), Jenna (Brooks' sister) and myself are very proud of Brooks and the road he has taken to get to where he is at," said Larry Lee. "He has put in so much time to improve day after day.
"It's a goal and a dream that he has had since he was very young," the 22-year Mustang mentor added. "It's a very emotional moment for our entire family."
Brooks didn't have to travel far to make it to Target Field. Earlier in the day, he was scheduled to play for the Triple-A Saint Paul Saints against Gwinnett at CHS Field in downtown St. Paul, about a 13-minute drive from Target Field.
A 2019 graduate of San Luis Obispo High School, Brooks earned his promotion by slashing .329/.394/.635 in 20 games so far this season at Saint Paul. Among his 28 hits are five doubles and seven home runs, driving in 21 runs.
During a nine-game hitting streak in late June, Brooks went 16-for-39 (.410) at the plate with 14 RBIs, lifting his average 58 points to .361. He produced five multiple-hit games during the run and homered twice with five RBIs against Toledo on June 20, one day after doubling three times versus the Mud Hens. Brooks also hit a three-run home run against Gwinnett on Tuesday.
Brooks' rise through the minor leagues was a quick one.
Drafted eighth overall by the Twins in the 2022 MLB Draft, Lee played four games for the Florida Complex League's Twins, hitting .353, before he was assigned to Cedar Rapids for most of the rest of the summer, hitting .289 with four home runs and 12 RBIs.
Brooks also played in the final two games of the regular season at Wichita, going 3-for-8, and played in five Texas League playoff games for Wichita. He went 5-for-8 as the Wind Surge's designated hitter in the two-game championship finals against Frisco.
Lee started the 2023 campaign at Wichita and hit .292 in 87 games before he was elevated to Saint Paul and hit .237 across 38 contests. For the summer, Lee produced 39 doubles, 16 home runs and knocked in 84 runs with 34 multiple-hit contests.
Lee missed the first six weeks of the 2024 campaign due to a herniated disc in his lower back. After 10 rehab games — five each with the Twins' Florida Complex League team and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels — compiling a .395 average with three doubles and five RBIs, he was promoted back to Triple-A Saint Paul on June 5.
Lee, 23, is the highest overall pick out of Cal Poly as well as the fourth player from the school taken in the first round (including supplemental picks).
Lee earned five All-America awards following the 2022 season, including first-team nods from Collegiate Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was a first-team pick on two of the six All-American teams in 2021 as well.
Named winner of the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top collegiate shortstop following the 2022 season, Brooks hit .357 in his second full campaign at Cal Poly with 25 doubles, 15 home runs and 55 RBIs. He led the Big West in hits, walks, doubles, home runs, runs scored, RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases and was second in batting average and on-base percentage.
Fifth in the nation in doubles, Lee produced hitting streaks of 19 and 12 games in 2022 and led the Mustangs with 26 multiple-hit games and 16 multiple-RBI contests, becoming only the second player in Big West history to earn the conference's field player of the year award twice. Mark Kotsay of Cal State Fullerton accomplished the same feat in 1995 and 1996.
Brooks, who missed nearly all of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season following knee and hamstring surgeries, earned 2021 co-Big West Player of the Year honors by hitting .342 with 10 home runs, 57 RBIs and a school-record 27 doubles. He further solidified his bona fides as one of the top college bats in the class by hitting very well both for Team USA and in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2021.
Lee might have made the Twins' roster coming out of Spring Training if he hadn't strained his back in late March. Lewis and shortstop Carlos Correa were sidelined by injuries early in the 2024 season.
Lewis left Tuesday's game against Detroit in the sixth inning with tightness in his left groin, an injury he suffered after hitting a two-run double in the third inning. On Wednesday, Lewis was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a right adductor strain, making room for Lee.
Lee is the fourth player taken in the first round of the 2022 Draft to reach the Major Leagues, behind the Angels' Zach Neto (April 15, 2023), Baltimore's Jackson Holliday (April 10, 2024) and Colorado's Jordan Beck (April 30, 2024). The last Twins first-round pick to reach the Majors in a shorter time was right-hander Matt Garza, who was their No. 1 pick in 2005 and made his MLB debut on Aug. 11, 2006.
"[Lee's] been playing so well at the Triple-A level," Baldelli said. "He's had excellent at-bats. He's a very good, reliable defender all over the field. And he's put himself on the map very quickly, from the time he's been drafted until now. We feel like he's ready for this challenge."
A day prior to Brooks' promotion, he was selected to participate in the 2024 MLB All-Star Futures Game and the Futures Skills Showcase on July 13 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Because Brooks' promotion was made just five hours prior to Wednesday's first pitch, his parents weren't able to catch a flight from California in time to see his debut in person. Brooks' girlfriend, Delanie Dunkle, a senior on Cal Poly's women's tennis team this season, was in attendance, as well as Jay and Sherri Black, his host family from the summer he spent playing for the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League.
Lee's parents flew overnight to Minneapolis and likely will arrive in time for Thursday's 12:10 p.m. Central Time series finale against the Tigers. Brooks knows what he'll do with the ball from his first hit.
"I've given them to my dad at every level," Lee said. "I plan on doing the same thing."
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