Welcome back to your favorite Up-and-Coming Dynasty Players article on the Internet. After a little vacation time, it is time to dive back into highlighting some of the top young players in MLB.
This week I am not digging as deep into the player pool as I have in past weeks as I am highlighting Brooks Lee of the Minnesota Twins. Unless you are new to dynasty baseball, you should have at least heard of Lee.
A standout a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Brooks Lee was drafted with the eighth pick in 2022 and quickly entered the 2023 season as a top 100 prospect by Baseball America (#45), MLB (#31), and Baseball Prospectus (#37). This year he started the season ranked 35th, 18th and 52nd by those three entities.
Lee’s 2024 season was put on hold during spring training when he was diagnosed with a herniated disc. The injury pushed the start of his season back and forced him to appear in some rehab games in the Rookie and Class A level before joining Triple-A St. Paul on June 5. While with the Saints, Lee slashed .329/.394/.635 with seven homers and 21 RBI in 20 games.
When Royce Lewis landed on the IL (again), the Twins didn’t hesitate to recall Lee from the Saints and insert him into the lineup at third base. Since making his debut on July 3, all Lee has done is hit, and his ability to do that at an elite level is what makes Lee an Up-and-Coming Dynasty Player.
The Stats (through July 11)
| YEAR | LEVEL | G | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-22 | NCAA | 115 | 104 | 25 | 114 | 6 | .351 | .426 | .647 |
| 2022-24 | Minors | 186 | 127 | 27 | 125 | 9 | .292 | .364 | .480 |
| 2024 | Twins | 8 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .364 | .371 | .576 |
A quick history lesson on Brooks Lee: after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he played for his father, Lee was sent to Rookie ball where he proved he was too good for that level after slashing .353/.353/.471 in four games. Promoted to High-A, Lee appeared in 114 games and slashed .289/.395/.454 with four homers and 12 RBI. Lee even appeared in two games on the Double-A level and slashed .375/.375/.375.
During his career, Lee has played the majority of his games at shortstop, appearing there 157 times in the minors and 112 in college. But with Carlos Correa at shortstop, the Twins have moved Lee around as he has played at both third base and second base in the minors. So far with Minnesota, he has started six games at third and two at DH with one appearance at shortstop.
The Tools
Coming out of college, Lee was considered to have a very advanced approach at the plate, leading him to make consistent contact thanks to a quick, compact swing that leads to lots of line drives.
Lee’s understanding of the strike zone is outstanding. While at Cal Poly SLO, Lee had more walks (64) than strikeouts (63) in 538 plate appearances, leading to an 11.9% walk rate and only an 11.7% strikeout rate.
He has not been able to keep a 1-to-1 walk-to-strikeout rate as a professional, but that would be pretty hard to do. But he has shown that he will not rack up a lot of strikeouts as a professional. In the minors, he had a solid 15.3% strikeout rate to go with a 10.1% walk rate. So far with the Twins, he has only five strikeouts in 35 plate appearances (14.3%) though he has drawn only one walk.
Lee has also posted solid slash lines during his collegiate and professional career. In 115 NCAA games, he slashed .351/.426/.647 and in the minors, he slashed .292/.364/.480 in 186 games.
A switch-hitter, Lee can make hard contact from both sides of the plate, especially from the left-side, but he does not swing for the fences. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to not hit for power. So far he already has two homers in 33 at-bats (1/16.5 ABs) and as he fills out and matures, 20+ homer seasons should be in his future. He hit 25 during his college career and 27 in the minors.
It is way too early to really take these numbers and run with them, but so far Lee has a 5.7 Barrel/PA percentage, which is above the MLB average of 4.8%. And his Launch Angle Sweet-Spot% of 51.7 is way above the MLB average of 33.1%. Yes, that number will come down drastically. But it does show that Lee is not being overmatched by MLB pitchers right now and likely won’t in the future.
Lee is not going to pile up a lot of steals for you during a season. While in college he stole six bases in eight attempts and then added another nine in 15 attempts in the minors. So be happy if Lee notches a steal per month for you.
The Future
The only question about Brooks Lee is where will he play when Royce Lewis returns from the IL. Lewis is the presumed starter at third going forward and Correa is entrenched at third. Lee could shift to second base. But the likely outcome is he gets starts at all three positions as well as DH. Should that happen, he gains even more value as he will be a multi-positional player.
Other that his position, there is no questioning his talent. Lee is going to hit for average and produce a solid slash line, because even if he doesn’t slug 30 homers, he has good gap power to rack up a ton of doubles.
If he is not available on the open market and you try to trade for him, don’t be surprised if your trading partner has a hefty asking price. But if you can part with some solid prospects or a veteran or two who are surplus players for you, it would be a good time to acquire Lee.
