Zach Lee

Zachary Stephen Lee

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 195 lb.
• High School McKinney High School
• Debut July 25, 2015

• Born September 13, 1991 in Plano, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Zach Lee was a first-round pick in the 2010 amateur draft. He made his professional debut in 2011.

Lee won 11 games and had a 2.05 ERA as a high school senior, his fastball peaking at 95 mph. He was even better as a quarterback, throwing for 2,565 yards and 31 touchdowns. One of his main receivers was also a first-round baseball draftee that year, Matthew Lipka. Lee was picked 28th overall in the 2010 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers even though he was strongly committed to play quarterback for Louisiana State University. Negotiations with the Dodgers only began on the final day on which these could be held; he signed literally one minute before the deadline set by Major League Baseball. He had already begun summer football drills by that point, as he held very little hope of coming to an agreement with the team that had drafted him. Given his late signing, Lee was unable to play in the minor leagues in 2010 after signing with scout Calvin Jones for a franchise record $5.25 million signing bonus

Lee played briefly in the instructional leagues in 2010 and made his professional debut in 2011 with the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League. He was 9-6, 3.47 in 24 starts that first season. He split 2012 between the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the Chattanooga Lookouts, going a combined 6-6, 4.39 in 25 games. In 2013, back at Chattanooga, he was 10-10, 3.22 in 28 games. He then moved up to AAA and the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2014, although results were mediocre, with a 7-13 record, a 5.39 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 150 1/3 innings. He made a couple of rehabilitation starts in the lower minors before returning to Albuquerque in 2015, where he did a lot better. After 12 starts, he was 7-3, 2.36 when he was called up to Los Angeles.

Zach made his major league debut on July 25, 2015, facing the New York Mets, when the Dodgers were forced to reshuffle their starting rotation because ace Zack Greinke was unavailable while awaiting the birth of his first child. Reliever Ian Thomas had made his first major league start the day before, but Lee's first taste of "The Show" was pretty rough, as he gave up 7 runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings to be charged with a 15-2 loss.

On June 19, 2016, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners in return for IF Chris Taylor. However, he spent the entire season in the minors, going 7-5, 4.89 for the Oklahoma City Dodgers before the trade, and 0-9, 7.39 for the Tacoma Rainiers afterwards, giving him an overall mark of 7-14, 6.14 in 27 starts and 148 innings. On December 13th, he was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres.

Lee made his second career start for the Padres on April 12, 2017 and it was a beauty as he pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up only 2 hits, to lead San Diego to a 6-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Related Sites

• Zach Lee on mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• Article from mlb.com on Lee's professional debut