Hitting machine Brooks Lee is tapping into some power

Hitting machine Brooks Lee is tapping into some power

July 17th, 2023

Wherever goes, he hits. A lot. And now he's hitting them far too.

MLB’s No. 18 prospect went 4-for-6 with a homer, a double, four RBIs and two runs out of the leadoff spot in Double-A Wichita's 13-12 win over Springfield on Sunday at Riverfront Stadium. The long ball was his third in the past four games.

Wind Surge bench coach Takashi Miyoshi raved about Lee's approach at the plate after the game.

“He knows exactly what he needs to work on in the cages and also in the game too,” Miyoshi said. “He’s mature enough as a 22-year-old to handle the Double-A pitching, and today was definitely a testament that he’s going to be one of the great Major League Baseball players in the future.”

The Twins' No. 1 prospect got his first hit of the game in the fifth, a first-pitch RBI double (his Texas League-leading 29th of the season) to center field off right-handed Cardinals starter Edgar Escobar. Wichita batted around, and on his second plate appearance of the frame, Lee roped a first-pitch RBI single to right off right-hander Bryan Pope.

When Lee stepped to the plate in the seventh against righty Brandon Komar, he smoked a 3-2 pitch to right for a two-run homer -- his ninth of the season -- to tie the ballgame, 11-11. The leadoff hitter stands sixth in the Texas League with 53 RBIs in 75 games.

In his final at-bat of the game, Lee lined a single to center off righty Andre Granillo, the No. 26 Cardinals prospect. 

Over a five-game hitting streak, the eighth overall pick in the 2022 Draft has gone 10-for-20. Entering Sunday with a 111 wRC+, he raised his OPS to .826 on the year by the end of the contest. The 22-year-old is ranked seventh among a loaded crop of shortstop prospects and has continued to reaffirm that status during a promising 2023 campaign.

“He knows that he can hit at any level,” Miyoshi said. “I don’t see him having an issue with anybody this season. He always comes out there with confidence. No matter what outcome he gets, he’s always trying to stay positive. … We just don’t see 22-year-olds that are total professionals like he is.”