Brooks Lee Has Been Found Out, and Hasn't Found Out How to Push Back Yet

A little competition can be a great motivator. I hope Tristan Gray continues to perform well so he lights a little fire under Lee. I'm starting to adjust my expectations downward for Lee's ceiling.

As my Dad used to say “he doesn’t get his pitch to hit”. It seems like his swing decisions are poor and he ends up hitting pitchers pitches. Guys not hitting something that isn’t a fastball has been a career killer since old Abner put 108 stitches in the horsehide. 

Mentally I’ve already moved on from Lee as an everyday SS. I’m just waiting for the Twins to catch up. 

Same with Lewis. They've learned how to pitch to him and he hasn't adjusted.

I just hope they get their head out of the sand, accept this is not remotely a playoff team, and start making personnel decisions accordingly.  That means if Culpepper is good for the next month and Lee continues to be below average offensively; Culpepper is given a shot to play most every day,  Same scenario with Larnach/Roden.

I heard another team's TV announcer say that in general Twins hitters have a reputation for poor pitch recognition.  If it's true, I wonder if it's something the Twins are failing to do in their development system or just a lack of talent.

Don’t see why Culpepper or any of the other Saints ringers should be any different. The problem seems to be in player development, more so than in the players.

Buxton has been the only prospect since Buxton to make it work in the majors. 

11 minutes ago, Muppet said:

Buxton has been the only prospect since Buxton to make it work in the majors. 

And Buxton has long stretches of inability to recognize and lay off the pitches breaking low and outside. 

Lee really wasn't that good even in the minors. He hit in college, so do a lot of guys that go nowhere professionally. He's not a good athlete and he just can't hit mlb pitching . . .

Ive always believed in letting young guys take a few lumps in MLB to see if they can swim. Lee is sinking fast. Try KC soon. If he swims, keep playing him….. Lee might end up a util type guy.

The smart thing might be for Lee to give up switch hitting. Just bat righthanded and see if that helps him.

They are not going to dump Larnach for Roden nor should they.  They may however replace Outman with him.  Roden does not project as more than a 4th outfielder anywhere other than with some TD readers.  Possibly the same people who were calling for Keirsey in 2024 when hit .300 with power.  Larnach and Outman (with LA) were great AAA hitters too.  St. Paul numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt.  

Not sure why people keep ripping Larnach.   He was second or third on the team last year in hits and is one of the leading hitters on the team.  No hes not a great defender but is still better than some of the guts sent out there.  Brooks Lee getting ripped by writers on Twins Daily is getting old and worn out.  The same negatives can be said by many in that lineup.  It's time for you guys to rip someone else.

I think sending him down to AAA for Culpepper soon and give him the chance to make the adjustments down there.  It is hard to make adjustments like they want at the MLB level when you are facing the best breaking balls in the game.  You need to work up to it. So send him down, tell him our plan is to work on staying away from pitches out of the zone and punishing the breaking balls in the zone as best we can.  His defense is not good enough to also carry a bad bat too. 

2 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Brooks Lee getting ripped by writers on Twins Daily is getting old and worn out.  The same negatives can be said by many in that lineup. 

It’s getting old and worn out, because both of your statements are true. This is what it means to be a Twins fan in 2026. 

8 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

 Brooks Lee getting ripped by writers on Twins Daily is getting old and worn out.  The same negatives can be said by many in that lineup.  It's time for you guys to rip someone else.

I mean, SS is a pretty important position on a baseball team...are you saying Lee's performance shouldn't be mentioned anymore?  Or should we pretend that he's better than he is?  "It's not fair to criticize poor performance" is something you hear from loser organizations, so it fits with the Twins, but I guess I don't understand the benefit of ignoring bad performance from critical positions.  This entire organization needs more accountability, not less.  

What are the batting coaches being paid for?

Just now, JBK said:

What are the batting coaches being paid for?

Wallner K's 5X followed by Outman's 4X performance.  They gotta make contact.  

Sincerely, 

Tired of Analytics 

47 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

  Brooks Lee getting ripped by writers on Twins Daily is getting old and worn out.  The same negatives can be said by many in that lineup.  It's time for you guys to rip someone else.

Some on TD put him on a pedestal with out reason and they are taking it out on him for their failure.

The way he has dropped is a bit of a shock though. 

He has been awful at the plate and on defense. I didn’t think Lee would be very good but I also didn’t think he would be even worse than last season.

I am not an Orlando Arcia fan but he is destroying AAA like you would expect from a major league player. He’s certainly more useful than Outman on this roster. I would cut Outman, send Lee to AAA and call up Roden and Arcia.

Lee is a good example of what great minor league development & coaching could (but in this case, didn't) do. 

Hitters with major swing holes or weaknesses will ALWAYS get found out in the majors. You can work around & through them in college & the minors, because opposing teams just don't have the prep time, research, and skill to exploit them effectively. Not true in the MLB, and never will be. 

While opposing teams may not have, the Twins minors/development staff should have been (and probably were) fully aware of Lee's inability to hit breaking stuff. They should have developed a plan specifically to address it - nearly all his training, practice, etc. should have been focused there, as it's likely the difference between a big league regular & another wasted draft pick. You obviously can't focus this much coaching & development talent on every minor leaguer, but Lee was a high-1st rounder with a top-100 prospect pedigree.

Maybe the Twins did what I suggested above, but I've never heard word of it.. 

We've seen top hitting prospects flop or plateau over & over again w/ this squad. Something needs to change with our development system.

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

I feel sorry for Lee - for all the pressure and all the criticism.  All the baseball ratings while he was in the minors can't be that far off. 

Sure they can.  Prospects are always just that.  There are thousands of examples of highly rated draftees busting out.  And thousands of examples of guys who dominate the minors but can't put it together in MLB (there's even a name for these guys:  AAAA players.)  Does Brooks Lee look like a top 100 player to you? Quick, name a good MLB SS who was slow. had limited range, and couldn't hit.  

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

It isn't his fault we traded Correa and thrust him into a full time SS position. 

It isn't his fault that he was asked to start?  At the position he was drafted to play?  What????  There are millions of players who would give up everything they have for a starting MLB SS position.  Poor Brooks Lee, how unfair for him to be expected to do the thing he's dreamed about since he was a kid!   

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

He has been awful at the plate and on defense. I didn’t think Lee would be very good but I also didn’t think he would be even worse than last season.

I am not an Orlando Arcia fan but he is destroying AAA like you would expect from a major league player. He’s certainly more useful than Outman on this roster. I would cut Outman, send Lee to AAA and call up Roden and Arcia.

Have you watched each of the Saints games this year?

57 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Have you watched each of the Saints games this year?

No, and based on their attendance I am guessing only the Saints coaches could answer Yes to that question.

Lee has always been an enigma in that he was drafted in 2022 after they signed Correa.  He was essentially shut out of a real path to the majors when Correa signed the six-year extension and Lewis was establishing himself at 3rd base in 2023.  He performed adequately when he was needed as an injury replacement for Correa or Lewis.  I could also argue that the rigors of full-time at SS is taking a toll on his offense.  Again, we saw this last year with Correa.  Correa struggled at SS.  Once he was traded back to Houston and began playing 3B, his bat woke up (at least compared to what it was in MN) because he didn't have the toll of playing SS. 

As for replacing Lee, I think a long-term perspective is needed.  There is a looming MLB labor dispute, and we have no idea what a new CBA would look like.  If you don't believe that the Twins have a chance at competing, it may be better long-term to let the prospects not start their MLB clock when you don't know how their clock may change with a new CBA.  I would hate to use up a year of eligibility on a lost season when the timeline may change from six years down to 3-4 years.  I wouldn't mind seeing Arcia come up and Lee getting sent down for a spell to reset his mind, bat, etc.  I'm more uncertain about just calling up Culpepper and calling it a day.