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Heading into the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, there was little belief within the Minnesota Twins that Brooks Lee would be available with the 8th overall pick. As the draft played out, however, Sean Johnson and the scouting department found themselves in an incredible position to find Lee within their reach.
Lee quickly made that decision look even better as he rocketed through the system, posting a .839 OPS during his first 31 professional games and reaching Double-A.
In 2023, Lee made it to St. Paul at the beginning of August after finishing Double-A with a .841 OPS (nearly 100 points above the Texas League's .751 average OPS in 2023). His offensive performance would tail off in September, but before that, he had a 23-game stretch with the Saints in which he slashed .287/.365/.500. More importantly, he was mere miles away from the ultimate goal of calling Target Field home.
Lee has shown plenty of in-game power, but his profile at the plate is one of an all-around hitter. Being disciplined and commanding the zone while making consistent contact comes naturally. Defensively, he still looks the part of a shortstop. However, his future position with the Twins will be contingent on the presence of Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, and Edouard Julien. Given his hitterish qualities and strong glovework, he could contribute to Rocco Baldelli's plans in 2024 somewhere on the diamond.
For someone who's been around the game since he could crawl, Lee knew his job would be different, but it's always hard to anticipate what that looks like once you experience it. Having a full professional season in the rearview has given him some perspective.
"The season is obviously long, but you don't fully understand it until you're in the thick of it," Lee says. "The first year is all about learning; there are so many games to be played, so getting frustrated about a single game is pointless. You learn quickly how to get your body and mind in the best possible shape for the game ahead of you and take it day by day."
Following his 125 games played in 2023, he now understands what is required in the offseason to prepare for that workload. Planning an attack for 2024 will include tweaks from his previous process, including trying to repair weaknesses exposed by higher-level pitching.
"What I took away most from Triple-A was that the pitching was smarter and more precise," says Lee. "As I went up levels, those pitchers capitalized on going towards hitters weaknesses or being consistent with locating their wipeout pitches. It's hard to hit but even harder when you have a particular hole that an opposing pitcher can expose."
Despite the late-season doldrums, Lee showed plenty of attractive attributes at the plate. Case in point, Lee had two opposite-field home runs with the Saints in early September that registered 103 and 104 MPH off the bat, respectively. Matt Wallner and Alex Kirilloff were the only Twins players to hit opposite field shots at a higher exit velocity.
"My issue was that my great batting practice swing didn't translate into games," Lee says, diagnosing what he plans to work on this offseason. "I want to be in the right positions at load, launch, and follow-through. If I can do that, I can take my swing and tailor an approach I think will be most successful against whoever I'm facing."
As part of his maturation, Lee also had a front-row seat to what Royce Lewis was doing on his rehab back to the big leagues.
"Royce was most helpful as a hitter in Double-A and Triple-A when he rehabbed. He has a unique and specific way of dissecting pitchers and then creating his plan. He is so advanced, and it was super beneficial for me to hit behind him."
Baseball has been part of Lee's blood, and his dad, Larry, has been a constant driving factor. The elder Lee, a lifelong college coach, has been the head coach at Cal Poly for the past 21 seasons. Coach Lee will undoubtedly be present to some degree in his son's development this offseason.
"I hope all my offseasons revolve around working with my dad," he says.
Lee says he will spend some much-needed time decompressing away from the game this December with his girlfriend. The majority of the offseason, however, involves training daily with two of his former teammates at Cal Poly.
"I want to be more agile and quicker, so I must spend time on technique," Lee adds. The infielder has stolen just seven bases in 13 tries so far in his career, and with the renewed emphasis on base stealing, having that additional weapon makes him much more dangerous.
Personal success is important to Lee, but baseball is a team game, and winning is the ultimate goal. The Twins did a lot of that this season, and while he saw some of the action in St. Paul, being locked in on a postseason run took things to another level.
"It was impossible not to follow the postseason, especially with the Twins having a special year. I am even more excited to help the team because the veterans and young guys in the locker room know what it feels like to make it to the postseason and have had a taste of winning."
If Lee can set himself up personally for success, plenty of team success will follow. He knows that 2024 could be a special year for him, but ultimately, one thing drives all motivation.
"I am not chasing anything specific other than helping a team win as many games as possible. Winning takes care of everything."
Minnesota saw success in 2023, and they'll look to expand on that in 2024. It was a season in which the youth made a high impact on the Twins. That can be the formula again next year, and Brooks Lee should be at the forefront of that movement.
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