Brooks Lee

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Brooks Thomas Lee

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Biographical Information[edit]

Infielder Brooks Lee was considered the top college player heading into the 2022 amateur draft and a potential first overall pick; however, he fell to #8 overall, selected by the Minnesota Twins, after some surprise picks upset the expected draft order.

He was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 35th round of the 2019 amateur draft but decided to go to college instead, to play under his father, Larry Lee, the head baseball coach at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. His college career was not smooth, as the 2020 season was cut short by the Coronavirus pandemic, while he was trying to come back from tearing a ligament in his knee and injuring his hamstring during a practice session the previous fall. He had to undergo an unprecedented type of surgery and his recovery was uncertain. He had an outstanding season as a redshirt freshman in 2021, batting .342 and slugging .626 as the school's starting shortstop. He followed that up by batting .357 with 15 homers and 55 RBIs in 58 games in 2022. He also hit .340 or more in three distinct stints in summer collegiate leagues between 2019 and 2021. He was the highest draft pick in his school's history.

After signing with the Twins, he played 31 minors league games in 2022, spread out among three team: the FCL Twins, the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the Wichita Wind Surge. Altogether, his batting line was .303/.389/.451 with 4 homers and 15 RBIs. In 2023, he played 125 games between AA Wichita and the AAA St. Paul Saints, hitting .275/.347/.461 with 16 homers, 83 runs and 84 RBIs. He was named a Twins organizational All-Star after the season. In 2024, he was injured at the start of the season, then in May went on a couple of rehabilitation outings with the FCL Twins and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels before playing his first game with St. Paul on June 5th. He hit .329 in 20 games there and was named to the 2024 Futures Game, but those plans were upended when he got the call to join the big league Twins.

Brooks made his major league debut with the Twins on July 3, 2024, starting at third base against the Detroit Tigers and batting 8th. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI in a 9-2 loss.

In addition to his father, his uncles Terry Lee and Mike Lee both played professional baseball; Terry was a first-round pick in the 1974 amateur draft. He is named after Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Michael Clair: "Brooks Lee was always meant to be a ballplayer", mlb.com, August 5, 2024. [1]
  • Jonathan Mayo: "Brooks Lee's best coach? It was his dad", mlb.com, July 18, 2022. [2]
  • Do-Hyoung Park: "Twins land one of Draft's best college bats in Lee", mlb.com, July 18, 2022. [3]
  • Do-Hyoung Park: "'That kid is a stud': Lee has Twins gushing: Top prospect is youngest player in camp, but he isn't playing that way", mlb.com, March 2, 2023. [4]

Related Sites[edit]

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