When Brooks Lee was a child, his parents moved out of the city and built him a barn. The Lees didn’t raise livestock or crops there. Instead, Lee developed into a major-league talent in a facility they designed to refine his skills.
“It’s basically the sole reason we moved from in the neighborhood to kinda of the countryside, just so they could build me an area like that,” Lee said with a smile. “It’s something that we own. We built it when I was probably seven or eight, and it definitely was a good payback.”
Lee grew up 200 miles north of Los Angeles in San Luis Obispo, a central coastal town known for its historic architecture and vineyards. His father, Larry, has been the head coach at California Polytechnic State University since 2003. The barn became a gathering place for Lee’s teammates at San Luis Obispo High School and Cal Poly, where they honed their baseball skills and built lifelong friendships.
“We always have friends over,” said Lee. “In high school, we would hit at like 6:00 am before school. Then, if we played high school games, we would go hit after school and then get ready for the game. I always had a bunch of people over hitting all the time.
“Same thing with college guys. When the (Cal Poly) field floods, and you can’t hit on the field, then we go to the barn.”
Lee returned to San Luis Obispo this offseason after making his major league debut last year. The Minnesota Twins were pleasantly surprised when Lee dropped to them at eighth overall in 2022. “It’s hard to say who made who fall to our pick,” Twins scouting director Sean Johnson said when they drafted Lee, “but regardless of who caused it, [for] the domino to trickle, we’re ecstatic.”
Minnesota called Lee up on June 3 last year, and he hit .273/.313/.432 in 11 games before the All-Star Break. However, he slashed .203/.248/.281 in 39 games after the Midsummer Classic, finishing with a .221/.265/.320 slash line. A shoulder injury contributed to his lack of production late in the season, but his left-handed swing was the main culprit.
Lee hit .245/.269/.327 in 52 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers but .211/.263/.317 against righties. That’s only a .016-point differential. However, he said his left-handed swing felt off all season.
“I kept my right-handed swing the way I wanted it to. I felt comfortable on that side,” said Lee. “But left-handed, I struggled for the most part. Even in Triple-A, I didn’t feel like myself left-handed.
“There’s some big adjustments to be made, like barrel angle, my lower half. That’s the stuff that I really focus on. And I mean, for the most part, it’s been cleaned up, and I’m sure it’ll make a big difference this coming year.”
In the offseason, Lee doesn’t solely work on his swing mechanics. He can also do defensive drills in the barn, a 3,000-foot stainless steel facility with a semi-retractable roof and garage doors they can lift on both sides.
“Just [creating] a little airflow,” Lee said with a short laugh.
Lee could use a little California breeze as he takes a few swings in the cage or works on his defense. His father named him after Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, and he can play shortstop, third, and second base. The barn has turf but no bases or basepaths, so they improvise to work on defensive drills.
“We put hula hoops all over,” said Lee. “We put one down the third baseline and then left-center, right-center gap, first baseline. And then, on one side, we had another hoop that would most accurately [represent] first base.
“So you throw to first base and try to get in the hoop. You [can turn] double-plays and stuff.”
Lee said that hitting has been his primary focus. In the offseason, the Twins fired former hitting coach David Popkins and his assistants, Derek Shomon and Rudy Hernandez. They replaced them with Matt Borgschulte and assistants Trevor Amico and Rayden Sierra.
Minnesota’s new hitting coaches have coordinated with Lee’s father, trying to help him unlock the has as one of baseball’s best hitting prospects when the Twins drafted him.
“You have to have someone with good eyes other than yourself, making sure that things are aligned in the right place to fire,” said Lee. “That’s what I have now, especially with the new hitting coaches. We’ve talked quite a few times together with my dad, so that’s the biggest focus.”
However, he’s also working on defense and improving his lateral footspeed and upper-body strength.
Lee said he tried to take two weeks off baseball at the end of the season, but he couldn’t wait that long. He surfs, golfs, and goes fishing in the offseason. Still, he couldn’t resist the temptation to return to the barn.
“The first two weeks is recharging, and then you’re just bored, honestly,” he said, laughing. “So, you start working, even though I always work out too early every year. Start throwing too early, start hitting too early, [and] start hitting ground balls too early.
“It’s just what I do. That’s my job, and I like doing it, so I want to do it.”
The barn and his father will always be there, and there are always ways he can improve. Plus, the waves aren’t going to be good every day.
