Brooks Lee unexpectedly fell to the Minnesota Twins in 2022. The Twins used the No. 8 overall pick that season on the Cal Poly junior who had played for the Minnesota-based Willmar Stingers in the Northwoods League. They’ve fast-tracked one of college baseball’s most polished hitters through the minor leagues since Lee joined the organization in July 2022. He finished last season with Triple-A St. Paul as Minnesota’s No. 2 prospect.
Lee, 22, was an intriguing draft prospect because of his high floor, and he’s lived up to the hype. Lee has a .281/.355/.459 slash line in 156 minor league games. The switch-hitting infield prospect only had a .731 OPS in 38 Triple-A games. But he should improve that number with more Triple-A at-bats next year.
Barring injury, Lee will likely make his major league debut at some point during the 2024 season. But will it be with the Twins? Minnesota is expected to trade for a frontline starting pitcher at some point this winter. Those guys aren’t cheap. A top prospect like Lee might be the price of doing business, and the Twins may have no choice but to try and trade him this winter.
Lee’s value as a prospect may never be higher. The Twins used the No. 5 pick on Walker Jenkins last year, and he’s the only prospect ahead of Lee in Minnesota’s farm system rankings. Given his high floor and proximity to the majors, Lee would be most other team’s No. 1 prospect. Most franchises want a top prospect who should reach the big leagues this season.
Prospects derive their value from minor-league production. However, they can also gain value through prospect hype. When Lee debuts in the major leagues, teams can more accurately determine his strengths and weaknesses. Until he reaches the bigs, teams must speculate on his MLB production.
Still, the Twins could keep Lee and trade him again later in the season or next offseason. That could allow Lee to perform well and increase his trade value with proven big-league at-bats. However, the team would risk Lee getting hurt or struggling early in his career, decreasing his trade value.
Lee’s positional home also significantly influences how much other teams will value him. Lee logged 136 of his 156 minor league games as a shortstop, which means the Twins seemed to have intentionally kept him at a premium position. But with Carlos Correa entrenched at short, Lee won’t be able to play there in the majors immediately. Former Twins top prospect Royce Lewis occupies third base and played solid defense (+1 run value in 2023). But the fact that he was fine defensively at third and still hit .309/.372/.548 in 58 games last season makes it unlikely the Twins move him from the hot corner in 2024.
Lee could play second base in the majors, but the Twins have even more depth there. Jorge Polanco is in the final year of his deal. The same goes for utility infielder Kyle Farmer, who can play all over the infield. Edouard Julien had a solid first season in the pros, and Austin Martin is a top prospect who has experience at second. Minnesota has a glut of middle infielders, and most already have produced in the big leagues. That’s especially true for another team-controlled hitter in Julien compared to Lee, who is still unproven in the big leagues.
The Twins could also trade Julien. If they believe Lee has a higher ceiling, moving Julien makes sense. Julien hit .263/.381/.459 last year but had trouble defensively at second. Conversely, Lee has the tools to transition easily into a valuable second baseman defensively. If the Twins want to land a good pitcher, they must trade a valuable hitter. Lee could be the most valuable player in a trade that nets the Twins a high-end pitcher to complement Pablo López at the top of the rotation. Minnesota traded Luis Arraez partially because of the infield depth Polanco and Julien provided.
Minnesota’s front office has already set a precedent for trading a player like Lee in the past two offseasons. They traded 2021 first-round pick Chase Petty to the Cincinnati Reds for Sonny Gray. A one-for-one trade brought in a pitcher with two seasons of team control for a high-end prospect like Lee. And they dealt Arraez to the Miami Marlins a year ago for López and two prospects. The Twins made that trade to bring in pitching, but they dealt from an area of excess by moving a left-handed second baseman.
The Twins might still hang onto Lee regardless of their depth at second base. He was once their top prospect and still would be in many farm systems. Lee is a high-level trade chip, but he could also stay in Minnesota for years to come with six years of team control. The left side of the infield still has too many variables. The Twins could still move Polanco, and we don’t know where Julien and Alex Kirilloff will play long-term. Minnesota has flexibility if they want to keep Lee and move him around the infield.
Minnesota can work on that puzzle over time. It’s a long 162-game season, and the circumstances will likely dictate where the Twins need Lee to play. Last season, Polanco’s injury resulted in Julien’s call-up, and he excelled in long stretches at second base. Eventually, the Twins moved Polanco to third and Julien to first. By the ALDS, they had moved Julien to designated hitter when the Twins were at full defensive capacity to keep both of their bats in the lineup. Minnesota’s front office can manage all these players with some patience if they want to keep everyone together.
Lee’s knock as a prospect is his low ceiling. But it’s only “low” for the value of a top-10 draft pick. Moving him to second base only makes that bar for offensive production lower than the league-average infielders at the other positions. If Lee never becomes a top-of-the-order hitter but becomes a consistently productive big-league bat, he still has value to the Twins. Plus, if Lee becomes an impact player, they could have a special infield with Lewis, Correa, and Lee for years to come.
Brooks Lee is one of Minnesota’s best prospects. He can help the team win soon and provide a productive bat in a lineup that can potentially be the Twins’ deepest in a long time. However, he’s a top prospect, and the team is loaded with infielders. Therefore, he may be the trade piece Minnesota needs to land a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.
