MINNEAPOLIS -- It wasn’t the final score he was hoping for. But Brooks Lee was still pretty happy with his MLB debut.
The Twins called up their second-ranked prospect on Wednesday and he got right to work -- logging his first two career hits and an RBI in the Twins' 9-2 loss to the Tigers at Target Field.
Lee received a standing ovation before striking out in his first at-bat, a plate appearance in which he didn’t swing at any of the five pitches he faced.
“It was awesome. I didn't even know how to act,” said Lee, who went 2-for-4 on the night. “I was like, 'I don't know what to do right now.' It was super special and that's just what the Minnesota fans are like. I'm just so happy to be playing in front of them.”
As for the result of his first at-bat, Lee added, “I felt pretty calm. It's actually uncharacteristic of me to take pitches. It was cool. But I got it out of the way.”
In his second at-bat, Lee, who's ranked 13th overall by MLB Pipeline, took a slider in the dirt from Detroit starter Keider Montero. He swung through another slider, then jumped all over a chest-high four-seam fastball, lining it past a diving shortstop Zack McKinstry and into center field for his first hit.
“I came up and was like, 'If I get a fastball, I'm going to do some damage,’ and sure enough, I did,” Lee said.
Lee got his first big league RBI out of the way, too, when he hit a soft liner to center in the seventh inning, scoring Bryon Buxton to make it 7-2.
“It never gets old for us to watch young men out there achieving their dreams right before your eyes,” said manager Rocco Baldelli, who penciled Lee into the lineup at third base and eighth in the batting order. “I was really happy for him. He’s worked really hard to get here and he’s a good young player.”
A switch-hitting shortstop, Lee was picked eighth overall by Minnesota in the 2022 MLB Draft, started his first full Minor League season in Double-A in ‘23, and finished it with Triple-A St. Paul.
Lee might have made the Twins’ roster coming out of Spring Training if he hadn’t strained his back in late March. Once he recovered, Lee posted a .329/.394/.635 batting line in 20 games with St. Paul before getting the call to join the Twins after Royce Lewis was injured on Tuesday.
Lee is the fourth player taken in the first round of the 2022 Draft to reach the Major Leagues, behind the Angels’ Zach Neto (April 15, 2023), Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday (April 10, 2024) and Colorado’s Jordan Beck (April 30, 2024). The last Twins first-round pick to reach the Majors in a shorter time was right-hander Matt Garza, who was their No. 1 pick in 2005 and made his MLB debut on Aug. 11, 2006.
“[Lee’s] been playing so well at the Triple-A level,” Baldelli said. “He’s had excellent at-bats. He’s a very good, reliable defender all over the field. And he’s put himself on the map very quickly, from the time he’s been drafted until now. We feel like he’s ready for this challenge.”
Lee’s parents weren’t able to catch a flight from California in time to see his debut in person, but Lee had his girlfriend in attendance, as well as Jay and Sherri Black, his host family from the summer he spent playing for the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League.
When Lee’s parents do arrive, likely in time for Thursday’s 12:10 p.m. CT series finale against the Tigers, he knows what he’ll do with the ball from his first hit.
“I've given them to my dad at every level,” Lee said. “I plan on doing the same thing.”