“They Don’t Have a Shortstop”: Baseball America Puts It Bluntly

[stringer bell]

Brooks Lee looked less athletic last year than his rookie year. @bunsen82 said he looked too thick (more muscle, less flexibility) and I concur. Lee has struggled with injuries, particularly his back, and I think that has had an effect on how he moves and what happens in his offseasons. Knowing he’ll have the first shot at short and that he’s the incumbent, he can prepare for the grind in some respects.

As a hitter, Broooks was among the team’s best hitters in June. I assume a healthy boost in BABiP luck that month, but I also expect he was far better in all metrics then. What can he do to replicate a month where he was a much better than average hitter?

I suspect being stronger and having experienced the grind in ‘25 will make him a better player in 2026. He turns 25 on Saturday, so there’s time to improve.

I don’t expect an All-Star, but 2-3 WAR And 105-110 wRC isn’t out of the question. 

[bean5302]

39 minutes ago, bunsen82 said:

Brooks Lee is a stopgap.  Its what we should have done in the 1st year we signed Correa.  You run with it until he can become the utility player which he best suited to be.   Personally I felt he got too thick last year,  whether in the pursuit of power or thinking more muscles is better - I felt it limited his flexibility and range some.  I hope to see a more trimmed up Lee coming into this season.  The arm strength likely isn't improving.  As to the bat -  I have actually become pretty optimistic that his bat will be plus.  He had some extreme funky stats this year.  His 1st at bat on a starting pitcher - second worst batter -  2nd at bat top 15%.   He was better against elite and better pitchers and teams above .500 than the worst pitchers.   Effectively those with lower velocity he struggled with.  This is an area I feel he can drastically improve.   I think we will be pleasantly surprised with his bat this year compared to last year.   

Kaelen Culpepper is the medium and long term option at Shortstop.  His defensive chops were drastically better than anticipated.  Between the bat and the defense,  thats why I jumped drastically into the top 100 prospects.   

Brooks Lee has always been viewed a non-viable shortstop at the MLB level. It was widely expected Lee would have to move to 2B due to lack of arm strength and poor range even at the time of draft. From the day he was drafted until now, the Twins are probably the only organization in baseball who would entertain playing him at SS. As far as his speed/range, when Lee came up, he was the same speed as he is now, and he's always had a stout lower body. I don't know as Lee is beefing up or staying the same, TBH.

Those funky stats you're seeing are probably going to continue to be funky because you're getting into super small sample sizes. Brooks Lee's problem isn't "velocity" though it certainly isn't helping him he's among the softest hitters in baseball. He also has no plate discipline. 

Personally, I think fans of this site are just enamored with the name "Brooks Lee" and all the over-hyped excitement which came with his drafting. There's a chance he can address the multiple factors he needs to change in order to become a league average hitter at MLB, but projecting more than that feels unrealistic to me.

In regard to Culpepper, yes, his defense is drastically better than expected. It was expected he was a non-viable SS, and now it looks like he might be good enough to stick there. Culpepper's RF/9 was 3.91 last year with a .962 fielding percentage in AA. Viable MLB shorstops are usually 4.00+ with a .970+ fielding percentage. Culpepper was not a good shortstop, but he might be "passable." Culpepper's bat is also suspect.

[chpettit19]

14 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Why would anyone trade for a SS of you think Houston or Culpeper is one? They aren't winning this year.... Have patience. 

Because I've thought a lot of guys were a lot of things and was wrong time and time again. Just like every MLB team in history. It's all about improving your odds. And if you're right on all 3 (or 4 or 5 or as many as you have) then you move some to other positions like every MLB team in history. Up the middle players are hard to find. It's why they're drafted so high and paid so much. If you can get another possible (that's the key word here) up the middle player, do it.

Houston (assuming he's the best defender of the group) at SS, Culpepper at 3B, and trade acquisition guy at 2B is a nice outcome in 2 years. If you're only right on one of them, then that guy gets the SS spot and that's a nice outcome. If you're wrong on both Houston and Culpepper but you didn't bring in any other SS because you thought those 2 were the guys, that is not a nice outcome. Get the highest upside talent you can. And as much of it as you can. The highest upside guys are up the middle guys. Figure the rest out later. The Twins can move their Fernando Tatis Jr to RF. And they can move their Jackson Merrill to CF to play next to him. Just get the best baseball players you can.

[Chembry]

22 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Lee definitely was NOT better than Correa last season. Less range, less arm, more errors, worse at turning the DP.

I agree Lee isn't great defensively, but by both major fielding metrics (DRS/OAA), Lee was better than Correa last year.  Now it's a cumulative statistic, so Lee may have been as bad as Correa by the time he reached the same sample size.

DRS (Fielding Bible): Lee -8 DRS, Correa -11 DRS

OAA (Baseball Savant): Lee -1 OAA, Correa -2 OAA

 

I do also want address Keaschall's defense.  The consensus belief is that Keaschall's defense is "terrible", but defensive metrics don't bear that out.  Fielding Bible rated his DRS at +1, while Baseball Savant rated OAA at -2.  That is closer to average than "terrible".  Yes, his arm strength wasn't great coming off of TJ surgery and that was the vast majority of his problem last year.  His arm strength is only going to get better.  If Keascahll plays average defense, he will be a significant asset to this team for many years.   

[Woof Bronzer]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Brooks Lee has always been viewed a non-viable shortstop at the MLB level. It was widely expected Lee would have to move to 2B due to lack of arm strength and poor range even at the time of draft. From the day he was drafted until now, the Twins are probably the only organization in baseball who would entertain playing him at SS. As far as his speed/range, when Lee came up, he was the same speed as he is now, and he's always had a stout lower body. I don't know as Lee is beefing up or staying the same, TBH.

Those funky stats you're seeing are probably going to continue to be funky because you're getting into super small sample sizes. Brooks Lee's problem isn't "velocity" though it certainly isn't helping him he's among the softest hitters in baseball. He also has no plate discipline. 

Personally, I think fans of this site are just enamored with the name "Brooks Lee" and all the over-hyped excitement which came with his drafting. There's a chance he can address the multiple factors he needs to change in order to become a league average hitter at MLB, but projecting more than that feels unrealistic to me.

In regard to Culpepper, yes, his defense is drastically better than expected. It was expected he was a non-viable SS, and now it looks like he might be good enough to stick there. Culpepper's RF/9 was 3.91 last year with a .962 fielding percentage in AA. Viable MLB shorstops are usually 4.00+ with a .970+ fielding percentage. Culpepper was not a good shortstop, but he might be "passable." Culpepper's bat is also suspect.

Yes, but did you know his dad is a coach?  

[NYCTK]

12 hours ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Lee is a professional, his dad is a coach

Lol, I was just about to say this, but sarcastically. 

The fact his dad is a coach means absolutely nothing. I don't know why anyone ever mentions it. 

12 hours ago, HFC said:

Seems all that I've been reading on this site over the last four years is how great Brooks Lee is, how talented Culpepper is, and how the farm system is one of the best in baseball. Now I  read this article from Twins Daily, telling me Brooks is too slow (is this new?) and is out of position, Culpepper is a great athlete but isn't a capable of taking the most direct path to the ball., Then, Jenkins is the second coming of superman but isn't good enough to make what they are sure will be a crappy team out of camp. On top of that, Festa and Zebby who at one time were dominant can't miss starters are now only good enough to throw one inning out of a horrible MLB bullpen. Seems this site just shifts with the wind. Are these prospects really not that good as I've been led to believe?

Fans generally get way too hyped for prospects. Brooks Lee was never going to be a star. He had a high floor, a great chance of quickly making the big leagues, which was his only real selling point when he was drafted in the first round. There were always concerns about him from day one, and we now are seeing why.

This is why you should get information from sources other than Twins fan sites and the Twins themselves. It's OK to get information from people hyped about prospects, but it's helpful to pour cold water on that enthusiasm from time to time as well. (this advice extends past just baseball, for obvious reasons) 

The next prospect that I'm afraid is going to really disappoint fans on this site is probably going to be Gonzalez. Not that he doesn't have real skills, but he's not a top prospect for multiple good reasons. He's a good prospect that might be able to eventually hit .280 in the majors with some pop and bad defense. A good 2.5 WAR player is nothing to be disappointed in, but it's inevitable when you're expecting an All-Star. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

Got Gio Urshela coming back now. The big contending moves continue.

[stringer bell]

25 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Lol, I was just about to say this, but sarcastically. 

The fact his dad is a coach means absolutely nothing. I don't know why anyone ever mentions it. 

Fans generally get way too hyped for prospects. Brooks Lee was never going to be a star. He had a high floor, a great chance of quickly making the big leagues, which was his only real selling point when he was drafted in the first round. There were always concerns about him from day one, and we now are seeing why.

This is why you should get information from sources other than Twins fan sites and the Twins themselves. It's OK to get information from people hyped about prospects, but it's helpful to pour cold water on that enthusiasm from time to time as well. (this advice extends past just baseball, for obvious reasons) 

The next prospect that I'm afraid is going to really disappoint fans on this site is probably going to be Gonzalez. Not that he doesn't have real skills, but he's not a top prospect for multiple good reasons. He's a good prospect that might be able to eventually hit .280 in the majors with some pop and bad defense. A good 2.5 WAR player is nothing to be disappointed in, but it's inevitable when you're expecting an All-Star. 

Lee was projected to be drafted about where the Twins got him. Perhaps the hype that he would immediately be a star or superstar was generated by the team, but he was pretty universally thought to be a good, safe pick at #8. If he becomes a consistent 2-3 WAR player, that is decent success. If he’s never more than what he’s been so far,  he will be a miss by the team. 

[NYCTK]

5 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Lee was projected to be drafted about where the Twins got him. Perhaps the hype that he would immediately be a star or superstar was generated by the team, but he was pretty universally thought to be a good, safe pick at #8. If he becomes a consistent 2-3 WAR player, that is decent success. If he’s never more than what he’s been so far,  he will be a miss by the team. 

And "safe" he was. He made the majors, but his obvious lack of athleticism always had a ceiling on him, so while he's one of only 4 of the top 10 picks that year that have made the big leagues, that's about his limit. 

Maybe he can surprise and have a nice 4-5 seasons as a decent utility player, but he's never going to be a 3 WAR player. That much is clear. 

[dxpavelka]

22 hours ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Do Lee's 189 career MLB games count?  

He's hundreds of plate appearances short of where he needs to be to make a reasonable judgement about his bat and has started 87 games at short, but sure, yes, if you say so.

[dxpavelka]

22 hours ago, DJL44 said:

There is about 100 games worth of evidence they're right.

Making judgements based on a hundred games of evidence is how a team ends up in an endless cycle of mediocrity.  Oh, wait!!!!!!!!

[Riverbrian]

On 2/8/2026 at 11:13 AM, DJL44 said:

Where to get a SS? Look at the teams who have top 10 SS prospects with a 2026 ETA. Then trade for their current starter or utility player.

Team - Prospect - Current Starter - utility

1) Pirates - Konnor Griffin - Nick Gonzales - Jared Triolo

A trade for Triolo could happen. Derek Shelton likes him and says he can play anywhere. I think the Twins and Pirates roster surpluses/deficiencies match up well with each other. Both teams want to win now but they have the wrong parts.

2) Tigers - Kevin McGonigle - Zach McKinstry - Javier Baez

If the Twins want Baez, they can have him. He is owed $46M for 2026-27.

4) Athletics - Leo DeVries - Jacob Wilson - Andy Ibanez

I would love if the Twins traded for Wilson, but the price would be really steep (Keaschall plus Rodriguez?).

5) Cardinals - JJ Wetherholt - Masyn Winn - Thomas Saggese

Wetherholt and Winn are the Cardinals plan for their next great infield. Saggese is a decent utility guy.

6) Rangers -  Sebastian Walcott - Corey Seager - Ezequiel Duran

I would take Duran and his 665 career OPS as the Twins starter.

7) Mariners - Colt Emerson - JP Crawford - Leo Rivas

Not much to see here. Rivas is a 2B and Crawford is an expiring contract.

9) Phillies - Aidan Miller - Trea Turner - Edmundo Sosa

The Twins could probably get Miller but it would cost Joe Ryan. I would start Edmundo Sosa at SS for the Twins. He is a free agent after 2026. The Phillies have also have Bryson Stott at 2B. He is a better SS than anyone on the Twins roster which makes them four players deeper than the Twins.

 

There is one other obvious route - trade for CJ Abrams of the Nationals. The Twins have the minor league depth to make that deal and Abrams is easy on the MLB payroll.

 

To get a sense of the conditions in Minnesota you have to have a sense of the conditions with the other teams. 

Your post provides that. 

I would have traded Joe Ryan for the best SS possible but as you point out... there are other options. We didn't have to go into to 2026 this weak. 

The infield depth on this team is worrisome. Player development on the offensive side is not comparing favorably with the player development in other organizations. 

[DJL44]

38 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

Making judgements based on a hundred games of evidence is how a team ends up in an endless cycle of mediocrity.  Oh, wait!!!!!!!!

There is also the radar gun that shows his weak arm and the stopwatch that shows how slow he runs. How many games does Brooks Lee need to be bad at SS before we’re allowed to say he’s bad at SS? Is 200 enough or do we have to wait until he’s a free agent?

[stringer bell]

14 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

There is also the radar gun that shows his weak arm and the stopwatch that shows how slow he runs. How many games does Brooks Lee need to be bad at SS before we’re allowed to say he’s bad at SS? Is 200 enough or do we have to wait until he’s a free agent?

Certainly those two tools limit Lee's upside, the comparatively weak arm hurts at either shortstop or third base and the lack of foot speed correlates with a lack of range that limit him at shortstop. That said, there are other factors that at least in part make up for the negatives. "Turning outs into outs" is underrated at every position, making the routine to moderately difficult play more often than your peers can mitigate not making plays out of standard range and being quick from glove to hand and having a quick release can make up for lack of arm strength. Anticipation, positioning, a quick first step and good judgement also can move a guy like Lee closer to the median than the bottom.

I think Lee is pretty slick glove to hand and his release is also pretty quick. If he can be above average at the skills I listed above, I think he can survive at shortstop defensively, but it is unlikely that he would ever be better than "acceptable".  He needs to be an above average hitter for his position and he wasn't close last year when he got full-time play (527 PAs). If he was a Top Ten hitter at shortstop, the defensive deficiencies would not be so glaring.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Lee might measure up a little better this spring in speed. I think he played a bit too heavy in 2025 and lingering injuries might have also diminished his foot speed. A couple tenths faster would move him much closer to the middle, which is how his running was regarded before he was drafted. 

[DJL44]

35 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I have a sneaking suspicion that Lee might measure up a little better this spring in speed. I think he played a bit too heavy in 2025 and lingering injuries might have also diminished his foot speed. A couple tenths faster would move him much closer to the middle, which is how his running was regarded before he was drafted. 

The chronic back injuries certainly can't help his athleticism.

[Mike Sixel]

On 2/9/2026 at 7:34 AM, chpettit19 said:

Because I've thought a lot of guys were a lot of things and was wrong time and time again. Just like every MLB team in history. It's all about improving your odds. And if you're right on all 3 (or 4 or 5 or as many as you have) then you move some to other positions like every MLB team in history. Up the middle players are hard to find. It's why they're drafted so high and paid so much. If you can get another possible (that's the key word here) up the middle player, do it.

Houston (assuming he's the best defender of the group) at SS, Culpepper at 3B, and trade acquisition guy at 2B is a nice outcome in 2 years. If you're only right on one of them, then that guy gets the SS spot and that's a nice outcome. If you're wrong on both Houston and Culpepper but you didn't bring in any other SS because you thought those 2 were the guys, that is not a nice outcome. Get the highest upside talent you can. And as much of it as you can. The highest upside guys are up the middle guys. Figure the rest out later. The Twins can move their Fernando Tatis Jr to RF. And they can move their Jackson Merrill to CF to play next to him. Just get the best baseball players you can.

They have no catchers, no 1B, and questions in the OF (not to mention they lose two starting pitchers in a year or two). I'm not trading for a SS at this point. YMMV, of course*

* I mean, if someone makes a crazy offer, sure....

[chpettit19]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

They have no catchers, no 1B, and questions in the OF (not to mention they lose two starting pitchers in a year or two). I'm not trading for a SS at this point. YMMV, of course*

* I mean, if someone makes a crazy offer, sure....

Don't they think Khadim Diaw, Enrique Jiminez, and Eduardo Tait are catchers? Don't they think Hendry Mendez is a 1B? Can't you move just about anybody down the defensive spectrum from SS to 1B? I mean, that is my point. If you have extra SS they can move other places.

And I don't think it's fair to start off with "if you think Houston or Culpepper are a SS why would you trade for one" and follow that up with them having "questions in the OF" and ignoring Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, etc. If you're claiming Houston and Culpepper are enough to not need a SS then I'd say having 3 of your top prospects as AAA outfielders should probably mean something.

I'll stick to my original argument. Get the best baseball players you can and figure it out from there. They can move their Fernando Tatis Jr and Jackson Merrill to the OF to cover those questions if they need to when they're so overwhelmed with All Star SSs at the MLB level.

[stringer bell]

14 hours ago, DJL44 said:

The chronic back injuries certainly can't help his athleticism.

Greg Gagne had back issues early in his career and managed to stay at shortstop for about ten years. Gagne was one of my favorite players and I remember the regimen he had to go through every day to be able to play at a high level.

That’s a long time ago and training has changed (improved) so that players can recover from some pretty serious injuries. I hope Lee falls in that group. 

[dxpavelka]

16 hours ago, DJL44 said:

There is also the radar gun that shows his weak arm and the stopwatch that shows how slow he runs. How many games does Brooks Lee need to be bad at SS before we’re allowed to say he’s bad at SS? Is 200 enough or do we have to wait until he’s a free agent?

Or he could show us that he's good at SS.  Radar guns and stop watches don't play.

[stringer bell]

On 2/10/2026 at 7:41 AM, DJL44 said:

There is also the radar gun that shows his weak arm and the stopwatch that shows how slow he runs. How many games does Brooks Lee need to be bad at SS before we’re allowed to say he’s bad at SS? Is 200 enough or do we have to wait until he’s a free agent?

The radar gun and the stopwatch should then eliminate Corey Seager, since he is slower with a lower velocity arm than Lee. Another to mention is Bo Bichette. These examples show the importance of being a good hitter. Bichette and Seager are elite hitters for their position and their lack of speed and arm strength can be papered over when you are so much above average as a hitter. 

I have more hope for Lee to hit well than be an above average defender and he may not have all the skills to compensate for the lack of speed and arm strength. It isn't unprecedented to thrive without top of the line tools, but it makes the margin really small.

A bit off topic, but I was surprised that Carlos Correa wasn't on top of the chart for arm strength (172nd out of 395), Also of note to me, I had always considered Austin Martin limited by his post-surgical throwing arm, but it has come back to average (179th at 84.9 MPH).

[DJL44]

36 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The radar gun and the stopwatch should then eliminate Corey Seager, since he is slower with a lower velocity arm than Lee. Another to mention is Bo Bichette. These examples show the importance of being a good hitter. Bichette and Seager are elite hitters for their position and their lack of speed and arm strength can be papered over when you are so much above average as a hitter. 

Bo Bichette is getting moved off the position by the Mets. He's probably going to play some SS because Lindor is hurt but that's only due to necessity.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Bo Bichette is getting moved off the position by the Mets. He's probably going to play some SS because Lindor is hurt but that's only due to necessity.

Yes, he's being moved by the Mets. Bichette did log more than six years as a shortstop. I would venture a guess that Bichette would be the shortstop for at least a dozen teams because of his bat.

[chpettit19]

16 hours ago, stringer bell said:

The radar gun and the stopwatch should then eliminate Corey Seager, since he is slower with a lower velocity arm than Lee. Another to mention is Bo Bichette. These examples show the importance of being a good hitter. Bichette and Seager are elite hitters for their position and their lack of speed and arm strength can be papered over when you are so much above average as a hitter. 

I have more hope for Lee to hit well than be an above average defender and he may not have all the skills to compensate for the lack of speed and arm strength. It isn't unprecedented to thrive without top of the line tools, but it makes the margin really small.

A bit off topic, but I was surprised that Carlos Correa wasn't on top of the chart for arm strength (172nd out of 395), Also of note to me, I had always considered Austin Martin limited by his post-surgical throwing arm, but it has come back to average (179th at 84.9 MPH).

They aren't just elite hitters for their position, they're elite hitters. You're talking about 2 of the best hitters on the planet. 

And their arms are not worse than Lee's in general. They've both had years with max velos over 90. Lee has topped out at 86.1. Bichette, in particular, has had a better arm throughout his career than Lee. And neither of those guys were slower than Lee at his age. At age 23 and 24 Corey Seager had sprint speeds of 26.8 and 26.1 ft/2. Bo Bichette was 28.0 and 27.5. Brooks Lee is 25.6 and 26.1. That 26.1 from Seager at age 24 was the only time he wasn't faster than Brooks Lee until his age 30 season. And he was tied with Lee. Bo Bichette has been clearly faster than Lee every year until this year when he missed time with a knee injury.

These are not the comps you think they are. You're comparing 30-year-old Corey Seager and injured Bo Bichette to a 24-year-old Brooks Lee. Neither of those 2 are considered good fielders, but they're better athletes than Lee and they're 2 of the best hitters on the planet. You can put them at any position and their bat plays. I don't think anybody wants to make an argument that Brooks Lee is going to hit so well that we don't care where he plays or what his glove is like.

 

[stringer bell]

3 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

They aren't just elite hitters for their position, they're elite hitters. You're talking about 2 of the best hitters on the planet. 

And their arms are not worse than Lee's in general. They've both had years with max velos over 90. Lee has topped out at 86.1. Bichette, in particular, has had a better arm throughout his career than Lee. And neither of those guys were slower than Lee at his age. At age 23 and 24 Corey Seager had sprint speeds of 26.8 and 26.1 ft/2. Bo Bichette was 28.0 and 27.5. Brooks Lee is 25.6 and 26.1. That 26.1 from Seager at age 24 was the only time he wasn't faster than Brooks Lee until his age 30 season. And he was tied with Lee. Bo Bichette has been clearly faster than Lee every year until this year when he missed time with a knee injury.

These are not the comps you think they are. You're comparing 30-year-old Corey Seager and injured Bo Bichette to a 24-year-old Brooks Lee. Neither of those 2 are considered good fielders, but they're better athletes than Lee and they're 2 of the best hitters on the planet.

 

I don't expect Lee to have a career anywhere close to either of the two I mentioned. In that respect you are misconstruing what I am saying. What I am saying is that if he hits well above average (undoubtedly a big IF) Lee's athletic limitations don't rule him out from playing shortstop. As you noted, these are veteran players who debuted with superior tools in speed and throwing and Bichette might be through playing shortstop now. I'll also grant that if Brooks ends up being a well-above-average hitter, he'll will probably play the bulk of his career at another position. 

In an earlier post, I said the Lee profiles as a stopgap at shortstop. I think it is likely he playing another position (or utility role) by the end of 2026. There's a chance he'll turn out to be a pretty good player. These two statements could both be true.

[chpettit19]

40 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I don't expect Lee to have a career anywhere close to either of the two I mentioned. In that respect you are misconstruing what I am saying. What I am saying is that if he hits well above average (undoubtedly a big IF) Lee's athletic limitations don't rule him out from playing shortstop. As you noted, these are veteran players who debuted with superior tools in speed and throwing and Bichette might be through playing shortstop now. I'll also grant that if Brooks ends up being a well-above-average hitter, he'll will probably play the bulk of his career at another position. 

In an earlier post, I said the Lee profiles as a stopgap at shortstop. I think it is likely he playing another position (or utility role) by the end of 2026. There's a chance he'll turn out to be a pretty good player. These two statements could both be true.

I guess I'm confused then. What's the comparison? These are guys that hit from the start and had superior physical tools which allowed them to play short at Lee's age. Lee doesn't hit anywhere near average, let alone at their level, and doesn't have their physical tools. I'm not sure what you're trying to compare here.

Yes, Lee still has a chance to improve. His story is not finished. He doesn't have the arm they had/have, or the speed they had/have, though. He's 30-year-old Seager at the age of 24, athletically. And he has a spine disorder. I don't think he even profiles as a stopgap at shortstop on a team that has a shortstop. But, as BA states, the 2026 MN Twins don't have a shortstop so here we are. Brooks Lee may improve. I've been one of the lower posters on him for some time. Said he's a utility player with some spike years as a nice regular at 2B or 3B when everything comes together. He simply doesn't have the physical tools to be the star people seemed to be hoping for.

He can turn out to be a useful piece to a winning team. He can turn into a good player. My contention with your other post was the comparison to 2 of the best players in the game. He doesn't compare to Seager or Bichette. He doesn't have their tools. He doesn't hit like them. He'll never have their tools. He'll never hit like them. Yes, hitting at Seager or Bichette levels can make up for lacking tools in other areas, but Lee is never going to be that guy, so I don't understand the comparison.

[Craig Arko]

I guess we’ll find out.