Which Former Twins Infielder is a Perfect Comp for Top Prospect Brooks Lee?

Brooks is a weird prospect.  Prospects ranked that highly are usually have some ridiculous physical tool that give them some sort of superstar projectibility. There seems to be consensus that he doesn’t have the huge upside, but more of a high floor.

He may be a good or great player.  But, kind of a boring prospect.

52 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Off the top of my head, Roy Smalley works as a comp. Defensively stretched a bit at short, but compensate for lack of foot speed by having a strong arm and good baseball IQ. Switch hitter with good bat-to-ball skills. 

That is an excellent comp.

Gary Gaetti would be mine. Drafted #11 by the Twins in 1979 also out of college. Gary played most all of his games at 3B but he was also capable of filling in at SS. That would be a high bar for Brooks.

Brooks maybe a better pure hitter than Gary was. Time will tell but I'd take this as a repeat any day.

7 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I think Gaetti was more of a power guy than Lee will be. Gaetti only played 37 innings at shortstop in his career, so I don't think of him as more than an emergency guy there.

The jury is still out on whether Lee will stick at SS as well. I agree that Gary was more of a power hitter than Lee will become, but the game is more of a power game now than it was then. One would think that Lee will hit for higher average too. But who knows? I would be quite happy with a 42 WAR career from Lee. Whether at 3B, SS or 2B.

Polanco was a rock star when he started '19. He was the favorite for MVP & maybe would have won it if he had the ankles to play SS. If he had started at 2B like Lee, his stats would have been much better. IMO the comps are similar except Lee can play 3B much better.

Career path from college to majors in second full season it might be Knoblauch or Walker. Walker played 2B after his terrible shoulder injury as an amateur. The hit tool might be similar particularly the strength against right handed pitchers. Knoblauch made it out of spring training in his second full season as a non roster player. He also comes from a baseball family like Lee.

Castino or Koskie.  Minus the career shortening injuries please!!

9 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Off the top of my head, Roy Smalley works as a comp. Defensively stretched a bit at short, but compensate for lack of foot speed by having a strong arm and good baseball IQ. Switch hitter with good bat-to-ball skills. 

Nailed it. Maybe a bit more upside than Smalley…but Smalley was a very highly regarded prospect, as well. I’d be good with that outcome.

maybe not a Predroia type but close enough I hope.  Or that other shorter skinny guy that lit it up in post season, the name isn't rattling in the head; he produced when it counted.  Even if Lee is average and the team mojo melds some average players are the chrome on a playoff run.

Probably Al Newman. 🧐

Smalley is the obvious comp.  Switch-hitting college shortstop.  Neither project(s/ed) as a star but might make an all-star game or two as an average starter having a good year.  That's a pretty good player.  Lee might have a hitting advantage if he plays primarily off short.

17 hours ago, DJL44 said:

That is an excellent comp.

11 hours ago, Mydaughterhastwins said:

Castino or Koskie.  Minus the career shortening injuries please!!

I immediately thought the same thing with Castino. 

What Brooks Lee will be is so up for debate. A less than stellar AAA part season is to blame. Some ranking systems have dropped him in ranking. Others have not. In 2016 a player got his fall cup of coffee, likely a September call up. Did not bat his jr high weight, Dropped in rank. 6 years later is signing a 300+ contract. Matt Olson was not even in some of the rankings and has had multiple All Star/VP consideration seasons They are the outliers. Generally with hitter when they start dropping in ranking they end up a complementary player MLB.Com has not dropped Lee’s ranking. They are generally the ranking quoted when discussing prospect ranking. 

Lee walks a fair amount, does not have a high strikeout rate, and could be a close to .300 hitter. He could be like that 1B they had a few years ago, or the one a few years before that. That would be a Joe and a Gene

4 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Looking at second basemen in Twins history I would love to see Rod Carew, but Chuck Knoblauch put together the kind of season I could see Lee giving us. Brian Dozier would be another good comp.  I am hoping for more than Polanco.  Other than Arraez, those are the only 2B I would want Lee to  match.

Wilfong, Randall, Casilla, Allen, Lombardozzi, Castillo, and Teufel are good for trivia, but let's hope for a lot more from Lee. 

Knoblauch is a great comp. I had forgotten Chuck. I'm guessing more power from Lee. There would be nothing wrong with Lee becoming a 45 WAR player imo.