The Twins are in settlement with first-round choose Brooks Lee, stories Ted Schwerzler of Twins Each day (Twitter link). The previous Cal Poly star will obtain a $5.675MM signing bonus.
Lee, 21, fell to the Twins at eighth general on Sunday, a little bit of a shock. He positioned among the many draft’s prime six prospects within the estimation of Baseball America, The Athletic, ESPN, FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline. All however ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel slotted Lee as the highest school prospect within the class (McDaniel had him second behind Kevin Parada), with unanimous reward for his hit device projection. Baseball America suggests the switch-hitting infielder may develop right into a plus-plus hitter (a 70 grade on the 20-80 scale) at his peak. Different retailers weren’t fairly so bullish, however all of them challenge him as an above-average hitter at minimal whereas raving about his consciousness of the strike zone.
That was on full show at Cal Poly, the place Lee dominated mid-major pitching. After barely enjoying in 2020 as a result of mixture of an early-season harm and the pandemic season cancelation, he spent the next two seasons because the Mustangs on a regular basis shortstop. He posted an OPS north of 1.000 in every year, combining to hit .351/.426/.647 with 64 walks and 63 strikeouts by means of 538 collegiate plate appearances. The Large West hasn’t been one of many nation’s higher conferences in current seasons, however Lee additionally raked over a 21-game stint within the Cape Cod League final summer time and drew sturdy visible evaluations from scouts for his offensive upside.
Lee isn’t a fantastic runner, and most retailers challenge he’ll transfer off shortstop both earlier than or shortly after reaching the majors. He’s a fluid defender with good palms, nevertheless, so the overall expectation is that he’ll stay on the infield at both second or third base.
The eight general choose comes with a slot worth of $5.4424MM, in response to Jim Callis of MLB.com. Lee’s bonus is available in a bit above that mark, though it’s a contact decrease than the slot worth of the previous choose. Minnesota’s general bonus pool is simply north of $10MM.
