Brooks Lee Needs to be in Minneapolis: NOW

[bighat]

What more does the kid have to prove? He's tearing up St. Paul and lighting up AAA pitching like a Christmas tree on fire. The Twins have a black hole at 2B and need all the offense they can get. Farmer can be DFA'ed. Pay the man and let him play ball for the Pirates or Marlins for the rest of the season and cut your losses. 

Lee, Correa and Lewis will be a fearsome top of the batting order that the league will be unable to ignore. 

Free Brooks Lee. NOW!
 

[RpR]

15 minutes ago, bighat said:

What more does the kid have to prove? He's tearing up St. Paul and lighting up AAA pitching like a Christmas tree on fire. The Twins have a black hole at 2B and need all the offense they can get. Farmer can be DFA'ed. Pay the man and let him play ball for the Pirates or Marlins for the rest of the season and cut your losses. 

Lee, Correa and Lewis will be a fearsome top of the batting order that the league will be unable to ignore. 

Free Brooks Lee. NOW!
 

Stevenson was tearing up AAA pitching last year also; the Bigs sewed him up.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Agreed on Stevenson, but I think Lee is much different. Reports had Lee making the 26 man roster before his back seized up so there is at least some thought that he can handle big league pitching. I think now or at least soon would be a good time to find out. I was wondering if Kepler had to go on the IL. The Twins can back date an IL stint 3 days so we could put him on the IL back to Saturday and have him back on 7/2 when we get home to play Detroit. I think the IL makes sense if he can't go in this week in AZ.

The big issue is we need another bat and a LH would help. Lee is a switch hitter, a little better from the left side so far.  He could slot in at 2B with Castro going back to LF - where he's actually pretty good in the field - and a super utility role where he plays 5 days a week.  I wouldn't want to bring Lee up unless he was slotted in to play at least 4 days a week. Now would be a good time to find out if he can handle big league pitching while we have time before the trade deadline. 

The Twins need 3 things to really compete this year - another SP,  a back end reliever, and another bat. We need to find out now if we have in-house solutions. Can Lee be that bat? Let's find out.  

[mrtwinsfan]

29 minutes ago, RpR said:

Stevenson was tearing up AAA pitching last year also; the Bigs sewed him up.

Unreasonable to compare the  2 ,  Lee is  and will become a decent major player , there is zero downside, we gotta know ?

[stringer bell]

I would dispute that there is a black hole at second base. Castro has done better than just fine there and from what I've seen he is a decent to good fielding second baseman. Bringing up Lee or recalling Julien would serve to put Willi back in the outfield, and that too is not a bad thing. 

Lee has played only a handful of games at second base. While I think he'd eventually be fine there, the lack of experience would probably show up fairly often at first. Adding another switch hitter would probably make either Margot or Farmer pretty much unneeded. Lee has been hitting well and with power from the right side in the last few games, so I don't think there is a real need to protect him from lefties. 

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I would dispute that there is a black hole at second base. Castro has done better than just fine there and from what I've seen he is a decent to good fielding second baseman. Bringing up Lee or recalling Julien would serve to put Willi back in the outfield, and that too is not a bad thing. 

Lee has played only a handful of games at second base. While I think he'd eventually be fine there, the lack of experience would probably show up fairly often at first. Adding another switch hitter would probably make either Margot or Farmer pretty much unneeded. Lee has been hitting well and with power from the right side in the last few games, so I don't think there is a real need to protect him from lefties. 

If only there was a way for lee to get time at 2B before coming up.....

[bean5302]

26 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

...Reports had Lee making the 26 man roster before his back seized up...

I don't recall ever seeing any reputable source who expected Brooks Lee on the 26 man to start the season. I'd like a link to that source.

[bean5302]

38 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

The big issue is we need another bat and a LH would help. Lee is a switch hitter, a little better from the left side so far...

...The Twins need 3 things to really compete this year - another SP,  a back end reliever, and another bat. We need to find out now if we have in-house solutions. Can Lee be that bat? Let's find out.

Up until this year, Lee was a black hole at the plate vs. LHP, so even if he was technically a switch hitter, it was kind of just a formality. He was really a LHB who could stand in the RH batters box. That's a big reason why, from all of my understanding, Lee was never a threat to make the opening day roster. The Twins wanted him to prove he could actually switch hit before finding an opening for him.

In a tiny sample size of 30 PA, Lee has crushed it as a RHB this year, without any glaring problems.
.321/.367/.679, OPS 1.045 6.7% BB, 16.7% K, .429 BABIP

He's played in only 24 games this year. Just about enough to be considered a rehab assignment. I think the Twins are going to want him to get in a little more time before they add him to the 40 man and call him up.

[SwainZag]

17 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

If only there was a way for lee to get time at 2B before coming up.....

Looks like he has played and started there twice so far since his call up to AAA.  Make it noted though, it's the only time he has played 2B in his minor league career.  You do have Julien there as well, who plays the same position and needs to be getting the ABs as well.

[LA Vikes Fan]

9 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I don't recall ever seeing any reputable source who expected Brooks Lee on the 26 man to start the season. I'd like a link to that source.

I read that in either the Athletic or on MLB at bat when they were talking about how well he's been hitting. I'm at the office now and need to actually do some work but I will look for the link later today.

[DJL44]

The odds Brooks Lee comes up and immediately plays better than Willi Castro (or Royce Lewis or Carlos Correa) are quite low.

[RpR]

33 minutes ago, mrtwinsfan said:

Unreasonable to compare the  2 ,  Lee is  and will become a decent major player , there is zero downside, we gotta know ?

Suggesting AAA equals success in  Major League is far mor unreasonable.

Too many wonder kids have been wonder flops, especially for the Twins; the Twins are NOT another AAA proving ground, his time will come.

Larnach and Miranda are in their make or break season; Twins do not need another rookie unknown and there is no spot for Lee.

Suggesting 2nd base is obtuse.

[RpR]

4 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The odds Brooks Lee comes up and immediately plays better than Willi Castro (or Royce Lewis or Carlos Correa) are quite low.

ZERO.

[EGFTShaw]

23 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I don't recall ever seeing any reputable source who expected Brooks Lee on the 26 man to start the season. I'd like a link to that source.

No shade on anyone, but...

Reliable link on the Internet... 😁

[bean5302]

I think it's worth noting Edouard Julien is hitting again, too. There just isn't space on the 26 man roster, and Lee isn't even on the 40 man. In order to get Lee on the 26 man, they have to DFA somebody, clear space on the 26 man, and have Lee leapfrog Julien.

DFA candidates include Kyle Farmer, Ronny Henriquez, Josh Winder
26 man demotion/DFA = Kyle Farmer

I could see the Twins trading either Julien or Lee, but they're not going to want to sell low on Julien.

[bean5302]

5 minutes ago, EGFTShaw said:

No shade on anyone, but...

Reliable link on the Internet... 😁

If we're going with jokes, I add.

Brooks Lee probably does live in Minneapolis, and the Twins are in Phoenix and Seattle for the next couple weeks so sure. Brooks Lee can be in Minneapolis NOW.

[stringer bell]

5 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I think it's worth noting Edouard Julien is hitting again, too. There just isn't space on the 26 man roster, and Lee isn't even on the 40 man. In order to get Lee on the 26 man, they have to DFA somebody, clear space on the 26 man, and have Lee leapfrog Julien.

DFA candidates include Kyle Farmer, Ronny Henriquez, Josh Winder
26 man demotion/DFA = Kyle Farmer

I could see the Twins trading either Julien or Lee, but they're not going to want to sell low on Julien.

Jackson’s DFA made a spot available on the 40-man roster. 

[bighat]

16 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Lee will not be coming up until an injury occurs IMO.  We all know how this FO works.  They need to prove it over a long period of time at STP (e.g. Wallner last year and this year) in addition to an opening at MPLS,  They would not want to DFA Farmer or Margot to bring him up otherwise they'd lose their depth.  This is how it works in MN.

Yes. Slow and conservative. The Twins would prefer to let a once-in-a-lifetime talent rot in the musty, dank doldrums of backwater stadiums rather than give the kid a chance. Infuriating. 

[mrtwinsfan]

1 minute ago, RpR said:

Suggesting AAA equals success in  Major League is far mor unreasonable.

Too many wonder kids have been wonder flops, especially for the Twins; the Twins are NOT another AAA proving ground, his time will come.

Larnach and Miranda are in their make or break season; Twins do not need another rookie unknown and there is no spot for Lee.

Suggesting 2nd base is obtuse.

Times are a changing, regarding high draft picks , these kids are developed way past the point of prior years , look all around the Majors more and more every year we see young Draft picks - Alot younger than Lee, playing in the Bigs, and alot of Franchises are still fighting it, to hang on to the talent for selfish and $$$$  reasons, i would argue Brooks is already a better fielder and all around player at 2nd base than Julien, , let him play alot at 2b in the next month, and see then, but then what about Julien, ?? , its a great problem to have, not for kyle farmer who if at end of July is still here i would be schocked,  one big problem is Rocco will never trust all the left handed young talent over Vets like Margo and Farmer, he proved it again yesterday by leaving Farmer in late in the game against a righty,  at some point in the near future alot of tough choices will be made,  Good bad happy or sad we will find out, Go Twins !!!

[LA Vikes Fan]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

The odds Brooks Lee comes up and immediately plays better than Willi Castro (or Royce Lewis or Carlos Correa) are quite low.

That's probably true, but that's not who he replaces in the lineup. Remember, Castro is as good or better in LF than he is at 2B. Lee comes up and plays 2B. Castro moves to LF 3-4 days a week, a day or 2 a week in CF, and plays 2B when Lee either sits or plays SS so Correa gets a day off.  

So who loses time? The current platoon/reserve OFs - Larnach, Margot, and Martin.  Can Lee play better than those 3?  Let's play him and find out. 

BTW, all of this is a good thought exercise but what is most likely to get Lee his chance is an injury to someone other than a Catcher. With Castro's flexibility, he can be moved as is necessary to get the AAA player with he best chance of success up to the Show. That's Brooks Lee.   

[Dman]

Barring injury I don't see the Twins adding Lee until after the trade deadline when they can try and trade players to make more room and worry less about injuries down the stretch.  It also gives them a longer sample size to see how well the bat plays at AAA.  I've seen some pretty bad plate appearances.  He is chasing outside the zone and could be more patient instead of swinging at a pitcher's pitch.  Lot's of weak contact at times.  He can put the bat to almost anything but like Miranda he needs to hunt good pitches to hit.  His current line is 0utstanding but let's make sure he sustains this before dropping him in the deep end.

[nicksaviking]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

The odds Brooks Lee comes up and immediately plays better than Willi Castro (or Royce Lewis or Carlos Correa) are quite low.

They don't need him playing better than Castro, they need him playing better than Farmer. Castro's best trait is playing all over the field.

[mrtwinsfan]

15 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

They don't need him playing better than Castro, they need him playing better than Farmer. Castro's best trait is playing all over the field.

they need him playing better than Farmer. Concur

[DJL44]

11 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

They don't need him playing better than Castro, they need him playing better than Farmer. Castro's best trait is playing all over the field.

Farmer barely plays now that Lewis is on the team. Then there's the option of promoting Julien to take 2B instead of Lee. I'm not certain that promoting Brooks Lee makes the Twins noticeably better. He would need to post an OPS+ better than 110 or he'd be hurting the offense. His defense will take some work at 2B. The Twins infield is quite good already. Moving Castro to LF bumps Larnach or Miranda to the bench and they're both hitting pretty well.

[Schmoeman5]

3 hours ago, RpR said:

Suggesting AAA equals success in  Major League is far mor unreasonable.

Too many wonder kids have been wonder flops, especially for the Twins; the Twins are NOT another AAA proving ground, his time will come.

Larnach and Miranda are in their make or break season; Twins do not need another rookie unknown and there is no spot for Lee.

Suggesting 2nd base is obtuse.

Did you watch Shawshank again?

[Schmoeman5]

5 hours ago, bighat said:

What more does the kid have to prove? He's tearing up St. Paul and lighting up AAA pitching like a Christmas tree on fire. The Twins have a black hole at 2B and need all the offense they can get. Farmer can be DFA'ed. Pay the man and let him play ball for the Pirates or Marlins for the rest of the season and cut your losses. 

Lee, Correa and Lewis will be a fearsome top of the batting order that the league will be unable to ignore. 

Free Brooks Lee. NOW!
 

Who's next on the list to be Freed?

[nicksaviking]

28 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Farmer barely plays now that Lewis is on the team. Then there's the option of promoting Julien to take 2B instead of Lee. I'm not certain that promoting Brooks Lee makes the Twins noticeably better. He would need to post an OPS+ better than 110 or he'd be hurting the offense. His defense will take some work at 2B. The Twins infield is quite good already. Moving Castro to LF bumps Larnach or Miranda to the bench and they're both hitting pretty well.

Farmer and Margot have both started the last two games since Kepler went down. If Kepler comes back tomorrow there's probably only room for one optionable player to play every day, and looks like Martin is getting that gig now. If Kepler or someone else hits the IL, call Lee up. I'll take any excuse to get rid of these needlessly rostered underwhelming vets. Get the dead weight off the roster and start cycling through the young guys, they likely won't be worse but even if they are, Farmer and Margot aren't adding anything to this club anyway so the roster flexibility received from cutting bait with them is worth way more.

[stringer bell]

59 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

They don't need him playing better than Castro, they need him playing better than Farmer. Castro's best trait is playing all over the field.

Except for the infamous getaway day game where Farmer played shortstop (both Castro and Correa on the bench) he has started only against left handed pitching. I'm confident that the Twins don't want Lee to be only starting 25-30% of the time if they call him up. Can he outhit both Miranda and Larnach, enough to send them to the bench or St. Paul? I don't think so. Yes, they could DFA Farmer and add Lee, but even with Julien out of the argument, that doesn't provide a full-time spot for Lee IMHO. 

[Riverbrian]

50 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

They don't need him playing better than Castro, they need him playing better than Farmer. Castro's best trait is playing all over the field.

Exactly

It's a 13 man roster. There is no reason to expect him to better than our best to justify a call up.

To justify a call up for Lee or anyone from AAA. That player simply needs to be better than the bottom of the major league roster. Right now... statistically... it's Kyle Farmer at the bottom. 

I don't understand the thinking that Brooks Lee won't play unless Lewis or Correa yield the playing time. Willi Castro and Carlos Santana are everyday players on this team... they can yield playing time. Brooks Lee can be worked in... easy peasy.   

With that said.

60 AB's in St. Paul... He's looking great so far. I'm excited about how he is doing... but can we give him a few more AB's please before we start chucking bodies out the door to clear room?  

He's not even on the 40 man roster yet.

If we are adding to the 40 man and knocking a player off to make room while also holding back a player on the 40 man roster.

I'd be much more interested in Keirsay Jr. at this point in time. 

192 AB's - .937 OPS - 16 Stolen Bases - Plays a good CF. -- 27 Years Old with a clock ticking. 

Unfortunately for Keirsay and Lee who need a 40 man spot plus a 26 man spot. The Twins have a couple players swinging real well in the past 30 days who are already on the 40 man.

Wallner and Severino are my first phone calls.

Wallner last 30 days: 100 AB's - 1.149 OPS - 13 Dingers

Severino last 30 days: 73 AB's - 1,240 OPS - 7 Dingers  

[Whitey333]

It's always hard to project a prospects abilities to play major league baseball.  The Twins and Rocco make it harder.  The argument that there's no one to remove from either the 40 or especially the 26 man roster is ridiculous.  Lee deserves a chance.  Maybe he isn't ready idk.  Maybe he is.  The Twins are 8 games above .500 and 7 games out of first place.  They are 12-21 against teams with winning records.  If the FO doesn't feel there is room for improvement then we have a long boring rest of baseball this year.  Plus calling up a prospect and having him play 3-4 days per week due to Roccos extreme penchant for left/ right platooning doesn't do a prospect much good.  Nor the Twins.